


Get Out

by Geert_Wim, TSVhide



Category: TwoSet, Twosetviolin, twoset violin
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Assassin AU, Bathroom Sex, Blow Jobs, Choking, Dubious Medical Practices, Emotional Manipulation, M/M, Mind Games, Mob Boss AU, Non-Graphic Violence, Smut, Violence, assassin/mob boss, breddy - Freeform, criminal activity, potential nsfw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:13:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 43
Words: 88,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22566079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geert_Wim/pseuds/Geert_Wim, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TSVhide/pseuds/TSVhide
Summary: Brett sighed, hiding a smile "I see you haven't changed one bit, Eddy"Eddy looked away shyly with a small huff, " Wish I could say the same to you, you're more machine than man unlike your old bright self"But it was a lie, deep down Brett was the same and Eddy knew it ,but he was too pissed over the capture. More upset with himself though, because what kind of assassin freezes up!"Is that why you tried to kill me then, or did someone send you?"
Relationships: Eddy Chen/Brett Yang, Eddy Chen/Original Character, Eddy Chen/Other
Comments: 17
Kudos: 147





	1. Trigger

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter is by me

Gun smoke filled his nostrils in puffs of sulfuras clouds, his eyes squinted, trying to make out any shape or form amongst the smog but the blood dripping into his eyes would not allow for sight nor the shattered lenses of his goggles. All he could do was lay on the cold tile allowing blood to seep out.

_ Tap tap tap  _ it was the sound of someone walking through the carnage.

The man closed his eyes in acceptance of fate, only one thought crossed his mind “ _ How did it end up this way? We planned so much” _

*********

_ The night was dark and foggy, leaving what it hid a mystery amongst most but for the hitman standing on the rooftop it was all quite clear what was about to go down. He wasn’t afraid of what monsters the darkness hid rather the monsters that hide in the light as if ordinary people. Perhaps he was that monster. _

_ ~909 are you ready?~  _

_ A staticy voice came through a small circular device lodged in his ear for less visibility. 909 lightly pressed on it before replying quietly not wanting his cover blown,“ I was born ready as long as you run me through this. My trust and my life is in your hands Zero” _

_ ~ I got you, Eddy.~ Zero sounded strangely sentimental and sweet when using the agents real name despite it being against working regulations,” Now for the briefing of the briefing to make sure you have the basics, the building has 100 floors, amusingly the targets will be meeting on floor 69. Use the stairwell it’s not as heavily guarded as the elevator, kill anyone who tries to stop you. Now do you know who your main target is.” _

_ “ Yes I know the main target. The Prince of Crime: Brett Yang” Eddy scoffed sarcastically whilst loading his remington 700 rifle, typically only military snipers could get their hands on these but the organization had their shady ways of getting a hold of illegal weaponry,” Get the files, shoot the targets, get out. “ _

_ ~ Please never say prince of crime again. So cringey. Anyways back on subject, once you’re in you’ll have only five minutes to get out after shooting the target. The building will probably go on lock down with his cronies trying to kill you so, be careful, Love~ _

_ I small smile spread across his lips to the pet name, another thing that they shouldn’t be saying at work. Relationships were weakness, names were weakness, if someone were to bug their frequency to listen in it would be used against them ,” And as always Alex if I don’t make it back know I love you”  _

_ He purred the name lovingly as if it would be the last time he’d be able to say that name. _

_ ~ Ight that’s enough of the nasty sweet talk get your butt to work 909~ Zero’s bright laugh could be made out despite the unclear frequency. _

_ “ Yeah whatever Zero you started it” Eddy rolled his eyes with a soft chuckle.  _

_ Combat boots laced tightly, rifle slung over his shoulder strap holding it in place, hand gun on his hip paired with a knife in its holster and goggles down aiding in his sight: He was ready for the hunt.  _

****************

He pressed his fingers weakly to the now fizzing device not even sure if the transmission would still work due to his head bashing against the floor but he had to try before he met his final breaths. Wheezing and coughing were the first things that escaped his lips signalling to the executor that he was still alive,” I l-love you D-dear…. I’m sorry” he cooed out as calmly as he could, .

~ Eddy, I love you too. Don’t you dare apologize. I'm going to find you and get you, alright baby? I promise~ 

The sound of the other man was breaking up into fizzes and static but the agent could still make out the sweet voice behind it. If he was going to meet with death he was going to meet it with a grin and the sound of his lover in his ear. 

The glasses clad man stepped towards him hearing that he was still alive, his breathing sounded relieved by the fact strange enough.

***********

_ ~909 take the shot! Take the shot! 909! Eddy please!~ _

_ Eddy’s face paled eyes catching a glimpse of Brett for the first time in a long while-his features were eerily similar-the voice in his ear became like white noise as the target made direct eye contact with him from across the room. His stomach twisted into a knot from those soft eyes hidden behind lenses and the gentle smile the target wore, it reminded him too much of his lover.  _

_ This man was a stranger who knew all his secrets. This target was someone he once knew with joy but now Brett Yang was just an image that haunted him. _

_ “ shit” he couldn’t do this. His eyes were fixated on the tender appearing man gesturing to the cronies under him to deal with the situation since he came parading in with a rifle aimed at the man's head. _

_ A gunshot rang loudly in his ears as the bullet whisked through the air. _

_ Was that him screaming? The raw tone of his own voice was barely recognizable to him.. _


	2. Seized

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is written by tsvhide who now has an ao3!

_ Brett  _

He kept his face as the sound of the gunshot rang in his ears. Flinching was not something he did while on the job. He was always on the job.

“Jesus, Victor, don’t you know any better ways of dealing with things?” he said calmly, eyeing up the man who had just held a gun to his face. Luckily, Victor was as bad a shot as he was at judging situations. The red spilled only from his assassin's shoulder, although he wasn’t about to let the idiots working for him find out, he was rather relieved at that.

“Get the poor man a bandage for his shoulder, ” Brett ordered as he pulled Eddys weapon out of his hands, studying the metal for a moment. It was too large and impractical for his taste, but he knew it was just the kind his assassin liked. He put it down on his desk. 

“So, Chen, you've finally sunk low enough to try and kill me?” he said, before kneeling down next to the fallen man and grabbing him by his cheeks to make him look at him. “Who sent you, huh?”

When he didn't get any coherent reply, Brett snatched the transmitter from his ear, looking at it for a moment before throwing it hard against the wall on the other side of the room. The shattering of plastic sounded through the room, and again Brett didn't even bat an eye. 

“Who wants me dead, Chen? It'll be better for you to tell me now, you know.”

The next thing he knew, a warm clot of spit hit him straight in the face as the defiance in Eddy kicked in, and why Brett hadn't expected that was beyond himself. He backed away with a disgusted look, grabbing a handkerchief from his desk to wipe off his face and his glasses. 

“Victor, do me a favour? Tie this man to that chair over there,” he said, icy calm, and Victor quickly made the arrangements to obey his boss. Brett placed his glasses gently back on his face, pushing them up the bridge of his nose with his index finger. “And where the hell is that bandage? Are you gonna let him bleed out before we get anything out of him or what, huh?”

He watched his men get to work, ripping off most of his shirt to bandage him properly and getting him properly tied to the chair. Seeing both his slaves working and the high and mighty Eddy Chen in his custody at the same time made him feel powerful. A good feeling he'd want anyone to experience once. 

“Actually, grab one of the candies for him as well, while you're at it. Poor man looks like he needs a nap,” Brett commented, watching one of the newer additions to the group disappear into the other room to retrieve what was asked. “I want him brought back to the mansion. I'll get him to talk myself.“

He had to keep himself from grinning smugly as he saw the guards exchange awed looks as they realized the importance of their prisoner. He kept his face, though. Grinning was not a part of his job. 

“How about you proving yourself today, rookie?” Brett suggested, pointing to the new guy who had fetched the “candy” earlier. He gave a short, sharp laugh when he got the look of “Who, me?” on his face. Newbies. 

“Get the job done, buddy. Have fun with it.”


	3. Rookie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Warning unethical medical practices*  
> p.s written by yours truly, me

Eddy’s eyes narrowed into thin slits to show his disdain as his arms were pulled behind his back  — irritating his already injured shoulder — to tie in a bruising hold. Then the dumb man trying to shove things in his mouth was a completely different annoyance.

Teeth sunk down into meaty fingers drawing blood, Eddy would fight even if it meant he would have to tear them apart with his teeth. 

Victor growled," Know your place, if you behave boss may treat you well" 

He pinched the assassin's nose closed as he pushed the intruding digits further with the drug forcing the younger man to swallow if he desired to breath again.

Eddy choked it down as an unwanted cry raked through his body, he was so mad at himself and the humiliation filling his veins in a rush of emotions overtook him. Once Victor pulled back, he curled up pitifully–from where he thrashed out of the chair–choking and sputtering on the cold floor until the sedate overtook his senses; Allowing the embarrassment to fade into black.

The rookie licked his lips nervously feeling the boss shove something in one of his pockets. He found himself becoming happy that the prisoner was drugged; Otherwise it would become a challenge to transport the man, if the nasty bite wounds on Victor's hands told the newbie anything. Secondly he was very happy that he only retrieved the drug instead of being the one to force the assassin to eat it.

" I'll get the job done, sir. Thank you for the opportunity of letting me deal with such an important prisoner" 

" Then get to it Ray," One of the older guards sneered, obviously not trusting the younger in such an important task but Ray would prove himself worthy: He had to.

Quickly Ray scurried over to the now knocked out man, he couldn't help but pity the sad looking form huddled in something similar to the fetal position from struggling himself out of the chair.

How he was going to do this, he wasn't sure. First things first was getting the Assassin to a car or other mode of transport, secondly was to deal with the bullet wound seeing the piece of metal never went entirely through plus the blood loss along with the stress of the situation could possibly lead to an unwanted death. Ray was having a leading suspicion that Brett didn't really want this man dead so he would take the precautions of keeping Eddy alive.

With a show of strength, Ray lifted the lithe man to carry over his shoulder: It almost looked like he was carrying a bag of potatoes. Although Eddy looked way nicer than a potato.

With that, the Rookie was off leaving the boss and other cronies to discuss other matters.

" I wonder what made you freeze up like that. By the attire and your aim you obviously knew what you were doing." He of course got no reply because he was basically talking to a corpse: Eddy was dead but without the commitment," You must have favor for boss or something. Or maybe this was part of your plan. I must say getting captured is kinda dumb one yet strangely intelligent. After all you are being brought back to the house and Boss will be dealing with you personally. It sounds like a good opening"

Ray made a resolve to keep an extra good eye on the prisoner. He didn't want his new boss to get so easily killed if this was a strange trap.

The idea of bringing an assassin back to the mansion was baffling to him, over all it seemed absurd. He tried to keep his traitorous mind in check, it wasn't his place to judge the boss's decisions. He followed obediently.

Luckily no one was in the car garage to hear his one-sided conversation. 

This was probably a good time to look at whatever Brett had put in his pocket.

It seemed to be a sticky note:

_ Bring him to the guest room in the left wing near my personal quarters. It's the most monitored corridor as well as the most guarded.  _

_ – _ _ Boss _

Ray stared at the small message, his traitorous thoughts spiking up again. No, he would not question it! He could not question it! 

Anyways he had more dyer problems to deal with like the blood spilling out of badly placed bandages. Those other guards seemed profoundly incompetent.

" Boss seems fond of you so I will also take good care of you. I think he'd kill me if I didn't though" He sighed taking Eddy to a car, laying him down on the back seat–vinegar and cold water would be needed later to clean the bodily fluid oozing into the fabric. Nimble hands searched for the medical kit they kept under the driver's seat encase of drive by shootings or other violent possibilities. 

Alcohol swabs: Check ;Tweezers: Check; Lighter: Check; Needle and suture:Check …gauze and bandages were also laid out but not for immediate use. Those were for after the procedure.

Ray gingerly prepped the area with the wipes, then started to dig inside the wound with tweezers to get the bullet out. This was going to hurt later, as of now it was perfect procedure timing with the subject completely out. The bullet was admittedly hard to get, it had fractured–possibly from coming in contact with the collarbone, it was hard to tell without an ex-ray; Nonetheless, he had managed to get all fragments out.

Next was to loop the suture through the needle. This was one of the most unpleasant parts in Ray's eyes. It was like sowing but with human flesh, the visual and the sound was enough to make him gag. However the absolute worse was when it came down to the lighter, having to burn the wound shut in order for the veins to seal and heal up. The stench caused vile to rise up in his throat yet his hand stayed unwavering along with his demeanor. It had to be done. 

Once done, he pressed the gauze to the injury then wrapped it in place with the bandages," Let's get you to the manor now since you won't bleed over his fancy carpet"

______

Eddy's eyes fluttered open, he was in a room he didn't recognize —It looked like a place his honeymoon would be—and it felt like he was lying on a cloud. 

The pain in his shoulder and the ropes on his wrist soon reminded him of his current situation, he didn't have much time to think about it though because the cherry door started to open..


	4. Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by both of us

Brett sighed, hiding a smile "I see you haven't changed one bit, Eddy" 

Eddy looked away shyly with a small huff, " Wish I could say the same to you, you're more machine than man, unlike your old bright self" it's a lie: Deep down Brett was the same and Eddy knew it but he's pissy over the capture; more so with himself than his captor. What kind of assassin freezes up!

"Is that why you tried to kill me then, or did someone send you?"

" If it were me on my own resolve you'd be dead by now!" Eddy growled with the snap of his thought before realizing he gave away too much once again falling into weakness. He bit his tongue until it became painful.

"Ah see, still running your mouth like crazy under pressure. This is just like the good old days. Don't you miss it?" Brett grinned, leaning closer to intimidate his subject.

Eddy knew he wasn't typically like this, only Brett could get such a reaction from him. He absolutely hated it, the more reason the man simply had to go, " no" 

He said stale with slitted eyes stuck in a glare. Sure he missed Brett but he also had someone else to live for, he had finally made a life for himself out of the mob bosses shadow, " I don't miss being your dog always stuck on a chain"

"Ouch," Brett exclaimed sarcastically, holding his hand dramatically over his heart as if it hurt. It actually did, but he wasn't about to let that show. "If I recall correctly, though, we were 'partners', right?" he corrected him, emphasizing the important word and leaning on one of the few bare walls in the room.

" If you could consider it that" A low growl escaped his throat, not helping with his own comparison of a dog. Eddy attempted to roll to his other side to face the wall Brett wasn't leaning on, he didn't care if he was rolling right onto his injured shoulder, he was beyond stubborn even if it meant exposing his back to the enemy which was a big no no.

"Come on, I treated you fairly. You know the risks I took to work with you," Brett pointed out, noticing his exposed back and how the light red stripes flared across exposed skin. Brett licked his lower lip, knowing what they meant.

Eddy huffed again for the second time during their conversation," Did you?" He retorted sharply as if it were a playground dispute between toddlers. In a sense it kinda was.

He instinctively tried to cover himself more feeling slightly exposed, feeling Brett's gaze without being able to see the onlooker despite it being his choice to look away from his captor.

"You got your fair share of the loot, every time. I don't know what made you think you didn't, suddenly," Brett shrugged dragging his eyes across Eddy's tiger stripes.

"It's disappointing to know that you think I was talking about the money. The money never mattered to me" Eddy scoffed with a bitter laugh, he needed to push his emotions down and quickly he was being too weak, too vulnerable, he was giving Brett the tools to tear him apart. Maybe he wanted to be. He glanced over his shoulder catching Brett's eyes, scanning over his back, more weakness. The assassin's face turned cherry red as the evidence of his partner's passion was put on display.

The silence in the air was heavy, and Brett caught himself wandering into thoughts and feelings he did not expect to come back the way they did. He pushed them to the side. "So, who's the lucky person?" he asked, trying to sound like he was teasing.

Eddy bit his lip in embarrassment, what was he supposed to do just chat like they were old buds, " I'm your prisoner, do you really want me to talk about things that pertain to my personal life? Do you think I'm that dumb to talk about it when you could possibly slaughter h–them" he almost said him but tried to catch himself before giving too much away. He swiped his uneasy fingers against the ring settled on his left hand. At first glance it could be thought of as a symbol of marriage or engagement but in reality was just a promise made between two nerds if the fictional elvish style said anything.

"We're still buddies, aren't we?" Brett said way too sweetly, even for his own taste. He let his eyes glance over the slight movement of Eddy's hand, spotting the glimmery metal quickly. "A fiancee, then? A wife, maybe even?"

" I wish," he mumbled under his breath to himself about the idea of actually being engaged or married, " just a promise.... You always thought they were silly things, yeah? " Eddy decided to ignore the first question thinking it was too suspiciously sweet especially for not talking for years. 

"I guess I just see the status of being in a relationship a promise enough," Brett shrugged, trying to sound like it was just a fact of life. "Besides, I was never with anyone I wanted to put a ring on anyway."

" Sounds like you. It's not bad to look forward to something though, why not have vows whispered in secrecy until the day comes. " Eddy tilts his head to the side slightly, a small grin tugged on his lips in memory of Alex, what they had promised late at night when no one could hear but them. His statement was more of a daydream than apart of the conversation with Brett, " I thought you had that pretty little girlfriend you were especially fond of? She was kinda like a Barbie doll though so I guess I can understand, no one wants to marry plastic, " he snickered slightly not doing well with containing his own emotions or thoughts. The snicker wasn't joyful,only bitter– He always thought that women had one too many nose jobs.

"She was nice enough," Brett shrugged, sounding completely uninterested. "But unfortunately, she decided I wasn't enough anymore. Spared her life, though, if that counts for anything."

Eddy paused slightly with a small " oh" as he processed the information about the apparent break up, he figured it happened but it was different hearing it from Brett's lips.

"But nice to see you've got things going well for you. What's her name?" Brett asked, trying to make it seem like casual conversation when he really was after information.

A smirk tugged on Eddy's lips at how Brett automatically assumed he had a lucky lady, " hmmm I don't think I'll tell you her name" he drew out the word her since there wasn't one. 

"Aight, suit yourself. I'll find out either way," he shrugged, crossing his arms. "Looks like you have good sex, though. Good for you."

" With all due respect Mr Yang, if you were smart enough to know who my lady was you would have known by now instead of squandering your time talking to me. " Eddy pursed his lips ever so slightly, he wasn't worried about Alex being found at the particular moment since they'd be looking for the wrong gender. If it were him, he would have used the communicator to trace back to the source instead of breaking it. Tracking frequencies and signals proved quite useful. Even with the bosses appearance of great patience it seemed he also had some rash behaviors, "You wouldn't even know, the sex was stunning" his grin was toothy and laced with venom wanting its delivery to sting. His Memory was probably different from Brett's imagination; however, the man probably wouldn't want to know how it actually went down and he wouldn't want Brett to know.

"Questioning my intellect after failing to murder me because you froze at the last second and getting caught because of it? Brave move, Chen," Brett spat back at him, not liking the image of Eddy with someone else that popped into his head.

Eddy's mouth went into a flat line as his lips pressed together tightly at the reminder of his failure. He swiped at the ring a few times before he felt it beginning to calm his nerves, telling him to rip Brett's throat out with his teeth. Instead a lazy yet soft smile again returned to his features, " But did I actually fail? Maybe I'm exactly where I want to be." He hummed to himself, he knew he'd have to plot on an intellectual level with strategy instead of brute force.

"I know you better than that. Your face when you failed to pull the trigger? Priceless," Brett teased with a raised eyebrow.

Eddy felt his restraints on his wrists seeing how well done it was, once he determined he could get them off he popped his thumb out of socket that allowed him to pull his hand out, " I wonder if your face will be just as priceless, losing all life and oxygen under my hands. Or you're alive for a reason and I won't harm you. Want to place bets on that?"

"Cute, but we both know that even if you manage to kill me, you won't make it out of here alive," Brett laughed as if it was a joke.

"I beg to differ" Eddy rubbed his wrists slightly thinking of his options, " My goal isn't to live it is to complete a task. So it doesn't matter much. In fact feel free to shoot me" in the work world he was just a number not a person, to fail was to die. He was already digging his own grave by not finishing the task.

"So that's how little you care for your girl. I see," Brett chuckled, straightening his tie. "I didn't think you would be that kind of guy to use people for sex, but I guess I misjudged you."

" Shut your mouth! I am not like you!" Eddy bunched his hands in the sheets trying to keep calm," That's how much I don't want to be with you. What is the point of living while being caged"

"Again, ouch," Brett repeated himself from earlier, getting that sly grin he always got when he knew he was having the upper hand. "I'm sure your stay here won't be that bad. I treat my subjects nicely, if I may say so myself."

Eddy decided he was done talking, he sat up carefully ignoring the pain shooting through his shoulder fighting back the sneer that threatened to spread across his features. Pointless anger was getting him nowhere but loose lips.

"I'll let you rest for a bit. You want anything to eat?" Brett asked, as he headed for the door.

" No," Eddy simply answered examining his ring waiting for Brett to leave," Actually... Do you have any alcohol? Not a food but it may help me ignore the pain in my shoulder"

"Oh, actually, I have some painkillers I thought you'd like. Sorry about Victor, he tends to overreact a bit," he said as he placed his hand on the door handle. "I'll have them bring them in shortly."

" Thanks Brett" Eddy actually spoke with appreciation and softness he didn't have to fake. He looked at Brett with his warm almond eyes, gaze becoming gentle instead of the hard glare.

Brett felt a blush forming over his cheeks, and quickly left the room to hide his weakness. All the feelings he had tried to kill or at least suppress over the years they had been apart were slowly creeping back up on him, and he hated it.

Eddy watched Brett's form retreat before he slid out of the bed to examine the room, time to get his easy emotions back into order. He was left with the question why did he spare the man once again.


	5. Caged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning! Written by me

After making sure the painkillers given to him were indeed that, Eddy swallowed them dry in relief. His only hope was that it would take the pain away from his abused shoulder. He should have examined them harder for a sudden drowsiness took over his body causing him to almost immediately slump back against the bed. Before his mind faded to black he took mental note to never take medicine from any of his captors again. He could deal with the pain but not the thought of not knowing what happened to him in his sleep.

_______

A few hours had passed before his eyes finally opened again. He found himself tucked in neatly under the warm sheets," hmmm" he didn't remember getting in bed, someone must have taken his slumped form to lay down gently. Slowly he stumbled out of the comfy place.

With the sleep fading away from his mind he could focus on more important things. Such as his surroundings.

Adaptation was his biggest weapon at the moment when he had none and his mind was jumbled in disarray," Come on 909, think"

At that moment he didn't feel worthy of his number even as his most prominent identity. How could he with his failures and emotionally driven mouth?

" Ten days." he murmured under his breath glancing around the room, he was in such a lovely place and he was going to ruin it if he had anything to say about it. 

The room was something he’d imagine being in for his honeymoon, this was far from his honeymoon. The bed was draped in fine silk sheets, colored red with a black design creating the image of flowers in the stitching, a night stand to either side of the bed made from darkly stained hickory wood with a polyurethane coating causing it to shine, to the right was a large window looking over the gardens below in the courtyard, its curtains matched the deep crimson of the flowery design on the sheets, there was even a door to a bathroom! Near it a dresser most likely filled with spare clothes, towels or sheets. All in all the room was a quiet pleasant scene, except for one thing: It felt as if it were for a lay down lover not for a captive. It made an unsettling pool of anxiety grow at the bottom of his stomach. 

At this point he wouldn’t be surprised if he found some interesting items in the drawers of the nightstands or in the bathroom to match the theme of the silk. Quickly he tried to get the unsettling thoughts out of his head. This certainly was not the time for his brain to be in the gutter.

" Fuck it! Come on stupid brain, work!" he groaned ,hands ripping at his hair to urge his brain away from his captor and his boyfriend— it would be a different kind of story if Alex was here with him.

Ever so slowly he walked around to quickly scan over the room to think of his options. Nothing came to mind, alarms were on the windows, the air vents, doors, there were even cameras! It made him a bit uncomfortable to find one lingering in the bathroom, but he knew the logic behind it. Most people did stupid things in bathrooms or tried to escape so it’s not like Brett could leave it without surveillance but it didn’t make Eddy disdain it any less. He was absolutely caged like an animal on display for a sadistic man's game. Two could play at this sadistic game, see who would break first. He glanced to the light hanging from the ceiling to the sheets a grim idea flickering through his now functioning brain,” Two can play at this game Mr Yang.”

He decided to grab some spare sheets he had found in the dresser not being able to bring himself to ruin the bed display. He straightened his shirt up because the least he could do was make himself look decent for his plan,” You always accused me of being rash Brett… I guess you were right.”

“ I hope you’re watching, it doesn’t matter much though because you’ll find me one way or another,” He started tying the sheets together then made a loop at the end, big enough to slip over his head and tighten around his throat by adjusting the knot–it was pretty loose.

Alex always told him he looked pretty with things around his neck, he wondered if Brett would think the same thing. Probably not in this morbid sense,” Sounds silly but a lot of people say I have an elegant throat and that it would look good with something around it —pretty weird compliment if you ask me—do you think this is what they meant?”

He eyed the lighting fixture hoping it would hold his weight for this plan to work: His goal was not death but to escape the room. 

Eddy pushed the dresser over to where he needed it, lightly opening one of the drawers in a position it would be out of the camera frame, before climbing on top of it so he could reach. 

Ever so gently he wrapped the sheets around the ceiling lamp’s metal once it was tight enough plus short enough he took a deep breath, holding it close to his throat,” I guess this is probably a good time to apologize for all the shit since I probably won’t get another chance." 

The apology didn't mean anything,he just wanted it to cause emotional pain to Brett, that is if he had any emotions at all, in the case the older male was actually watching him through the lenses.

"Well Bretty that’s all I have to say. You win and I forfeit. Wonder if you’ll laugh at this failure too? Guess this is an unconventional goodbye. See you again in hell I suppose” 

He was always accused of talking too much, all bark no bite but this time he allowed his actions to align with his speech. With that he stepped off, allowing his body to slump, feet instinctually trying to touch the ground but they couldn’t reach– unbeknownst to the cameras his feet found perch on the opened dresser drawer as a way not to accidentally strangle himself. Soon his struggling body stilled, head slumped down against his chest with the hope someone would come soon so this would work. Eddy needed it to work.


	6. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The guard and Eddy's interaction is written by me but Eddy's and Brett's interaction is written by both.

The Guard: Inu froze hearing the words that fell from the captives lips before it fell into dead silence. The screeching sounds of the dresser had caught his attention beforehand which lead into listening to the assassins' self talk. If that wasn’t unsettling the silence was. Carefully he unlocked the door, in fear of what he would find. His eyes latched on admittedly to the young man hanging… shoulders and head slumped forward with no rise nor fall of his chest; lungs empty of breath. However, the atmosphere seemed off just like the scene itself. One foot was posted on an open dresser drawer. That was weird? Nonetheless, Inu quickly approached in fear the man was actually dead, something the boss would not be happy about. 

“ shit shit shit. Come on kid, don't be dead ....” Large hands quickly shot up to the makeshift noose of tied blankets. They shook more than they should have, it wasn’t necessarily in fear for Eddy’s life but in fear of Brett’s wrath if he found out. 

Eyes snapped open locking in on the startled guard, it was too late for any proper reaction from Inu though. All he could do was make choked noises as strong biceps cut his airway off with a guillotine choke.

Eddy flared his elbows up, hand pulled into a cobra grip–his thumb was in-between his middle finger and index making it harder to break– pushing the knife side of his hands into tender flesh of the man's throat. It was always a pleasant sensation to feel someone choking under his hands,” Go to sleep.”

He whispered until feeling Inu go completely limp. He let go of the hold not wanting to permanently close the guards airways, he wouldn’t kill them unless he had to. In this case he didn’t have to. Eddy pulled the loop off then hopped down to the floor knowing his time was limited before the cameras alerted other guards. Swiftly he searched the limp form taking a knife from a pocket before he quickly ran out. He hadn't planned this far ahead, in his head doing the trails of what to do he didn't even get past the door.

Eddy ran out and down the hall having the knife closely clutched to himself. He could hear the hustle and bustle of people, he wasn't sure where it was coming from so he kept running.

He didn't even know where he was going, nor did he know if anyone was following him yet. Thus his gaze kept falling behind himself to make sure that the hall was empty as he looked around to burn it all to memory. 

Brett had been trying his best to sleep when he heard the significant increase in noise outside his room. It wasn't unusual to have to tell his guards to shut the fuck up, but knowing the prisoner they kept he decided to check. Just to be sure. Turned out to be a smart decision. The adrenaline flowed as he grabbed the runaway who practically ran into him, and a swift move later they were both on the ground, Brett holding the prisoner down by his wrists.

Eddy shrieked out of shock, he had been too busy looking behind himself to notice what was right in front of him. If he had looked forward he wouldn't have landed heavily on his back. The air from his lungs was knocked out of them with impact, causing him to try to suck air in rapidly.

The adrenaline and loss of air made his vision go black, with the occasional flash of red letting him see his surroundings briefly. His mind was in too much panic to function properly. He felt like a cornered animal trying to escape no matter what it took; Despite not being able to make out what pinned him down.

"Stay... Still," Brett grunted, struggling to keep the larger man down. He held his wrists firmer and used his body weight to force Eddy to obey. He had to make good use of the advantages he had, being relatively small compared to him.

The flailing man snapped his teeth at Brett, with the intent of ripping his throat out if he could locate it.

Eddy's squirming seemed to cease momentarily once he felt more pressure being pressed down on him; It felt familiar to him. Something pinning his wrists and applying pressure to his hips so he couldn't squirm.

He flinched as Eddy snapped at him, but as he seemed to calm slightly immediately after, he let it slide.

The adrenaline of the original shock was slowly thinning out and he was finally able to see the situation he was in. It would be a lie to say he hadn't imagined pinning Eddy down like this before, but in completely different settings.

"I got you, Eddy, you know there's no point in fighting it anymore," Brett said calmly, quietly so the guards approaching down the corridor behind him wouldn't hear.

Eddy subconsciously tilted his head to the side, instinct was trying to comprehend the situation; Why was it so familiar? Maybe it was okay? As for his mind, it was running too quickly to even ask those questions. 

His vision continued to flash with red and black, his breathing also remained unsteady but slowly even out.

Instinct decided to take over while his brain decided not to function. By the time it did kick in, it was too late. Instinct had already decided what the familiar feeling was; pinned, pressure and a whispery voice saying 'I have you' were all very familiar things in the wrong scenario.

Eddy was already rolling his hips upwards when his senses finally came back.

Brett felt the hip roll, getting a hint of red over his cheeks for a moment. He had to consciously decide to interpret it as a last effort to try and make an escape.

"Stay still and this will be painless, okay?" Brett said, firmer this time as a few of his guards stopped behind him, unsure of what to do; Idiots.

Eddy's eyes finally focused onto Brett, identifying the older male for who he actually was, " Fuck you..." He managed to growl out even if strained. It was an attempt to stifle his growing embarrassment. At least he managed to make his hips stop even in instincts defiance wanting to keep going.

The guards finally got their asses around to help him out, two of them grabbing Eddy by the arms and holding him while Brett got up.

"Yeah yeah, bark bark," Brett said condescendingly, though it felt more like an act for the guards. He couldn't get the feeling of the hip roll out of his head.

Eddy was back to struggling trying to use the knife he still had to maybe stab one of the guards, at least he still managed to stomp on one of their feet, " Get closer and I'll show you my bite too!" 

He winced when one guard pulled back on his injured shoulder to get him to stop talking and to stop squirming.

Brett sighed at Eddy's struggle, running a hand through his messy hair before taking a hold of Eddy's wrist to keep it still, prying his hand open to get the knife from him.

"Just give it up," Brett said sharply, taking a step back and turning his attention to the guards. "Bring him back to the room and cuff him to the bedpost or something. I'll come talk to him shortly."

Eddy's eyes thinned into slits with a defiant huff, he had two options: fight off the guards like he was trained or to be dragged back to the room. He decided on the latter, the more useless he could portray himself ,the more advantage he could have later if the people around believed it. 

He watched as they dragged him off before returning to his room for a bit to cool down and change out of the sweatpants and t-shirt he had been sleeping in. The feeling of that hip roll simply wouldn't let go, but he forced it to the back of his mind as he got some dark jeans and a black button up shirt on. Time to get his work face back on, properly this time.


	7. The Three F's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little comedic relief written by me

" Inu you should have seen the boss he single handedly stopped the prisoners escape!” Victor used his hands to get the point across of how awesome Brett had been. It was always nice to see the man they worked for in action. Often the newbies didn’t think highly of the man. Sometimes they would even think he used his guards to hide behind all while forgetting that their boss earned his position. He had climbed the ladder of success, virtually by himself. His leaping ambition knew no end. Even at the top such ambition was insatiable.

“ More like single handedly almost fucked the prisoner. Three F’s of life you know. Fight, flight or fuck.” Ray rolled his eyes letting the sarcasm roll off his tongue with ease. He saw it quite clearly, especially with the exasperated look on the short man's face. It painted the picture of exactly how he felt about the hip roll.

Victor gave the rookie a quizzical look like he was an idiot. It was unquestionable: such a noble man would never go for lowly scum. Those two things surely didn’t mix. Someone like Eddy wasn’t even deservent of Brett fucking him “ What the hell are you talking about Ray? Boss was fighting and that guy chose flight. There was no third F involved” 

Inu rubbed the back of his head awkwardly feeling the ache that had started after being choked out. It didn’t help listening to the two other guards talk,” How did the boss stop him? That dude is viscous… ”

“ Boss tackled him while he was running down the hall. He pinned him to the ground. He had both of the prisoners wrists pinned above his head. It was amazing how someone of Boss’s stature could still use all of his weight to ground someone.”

“ With all that weight they were practically grinding against each other.” Ray recalled seeing Eddy raise his hips to meet with the pressure being applied to his hips, thus trying to make his point by reminding Victor. Their boss was completely smitten by the contact.

“ Yeah the prisoner was pretty squirmy. Didn’t stop Brett from completely dominating the game though.” Victor tapped his chin slightly in thought then hummed approvingly.

“ I think we're both thinking dominating in completely different contexts.” Ray finally realized it was completely helpless to convince the other guards on what had actually happened. They were too busy seeing it through their own admiration,” So how did he get out of the room?”

Inu watched their back and forth with only little interest, his headache was too painful to care. At least that was until he was actually addressed,” Well I thought he was a danger to himself so I went in to make sure he was still alive like the boss wants him to remain. It just went downhill from there. Did that beast bruise my neck badly”

“ It’s only minor bruising. Nothing too bad,” Ray quickly examined the bruising to make sure there was no serious damage. It seemed pretty minimal compared to what the assassin could actually do. It seemed that Inu got lucky when it came to the damage,” It’s strange he didn’t just kill you. He is an assassin after all ....”

“ Maybe he just didn’t have the guts. He didn’t have the guts to pull the trigger the first time. What makes you think this is any different? Just a coward that can’t handle a bit of blood.” Victors lips twitched into a sneer, obviously not thinking highly of who they held captive,” I don’t care if Boss treats him like some special prisoner. He’s a little boy trying to play a man’s game.”

Ray shook his head in disbelief, there had to be something up. What was this all for otherwise.He didn’t think the escape attempt was that, it had to be something else. Otherwise there would have been a trail of blood leading to Eddy; taking them all to hell with him,” He’s smarter than he looks. We all need to be careful and keep an eye out for him.”


	8. cuffed

Eddy stared dully at the bedposts he was cuffed to. The chain dangled loosely around the wood, " on the bright side they didn't wrench my arms behind my back to do this, but the downside I'm stuck staring at a wooden pole. Just my luck" he groaned, lightly resting his forehead against it. Partially wondering if he could just smash his head on it to end the never ending humiliation he felt.

Brett took a deep breath before unlocking the door and stepping in, seeing Eddy chained up as ordered on the bed. He closed the door behind him, running a hand through his hair before turning back to Eddy.

"Nice attempt," he complimented, leaning on the wall next to the door.

" Not nice enough apparently. I'm still here, " Eddy didn't even look at Brett as he walked in, it wasn't that startling; After all, it was to be expected especially with what he tried to pull. His eyes stayed focused on the wood allowing defeat to temporarily take over.

"So, how did you trick the guards to unlock the door? I mean, they're not exactly geniuses, but still?" Brett inquired, busying himself by rolling up his sleeves. He didn't really feel like he was working when talking to Eddy.

" Pretended to hang myself, you could probably find it on the cameras footage. I addressed you a bit in it. Almost disappointed it wasn't you who unlocked the door. Would have been funny" Eddy glanced at the man before hitting his head against the post with a small thump.

"I'll check it out later, I'm sure it's an interesting watch," Brett said, eyes locking onto the point where Eddy's head hit the bedpost. He didn't like seeing him hurt himself like that. "But you know I'm not constantly watching you. I got people to do that for me, though it may seem like I need to have a chat with them."

Eddy listened to the small thumps his skull made, for his own sake he kept it in rhythm, " Like that's any less creepy. Now I know some stranger can watch me in the shower or something. How comforting" 

He rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Can never be too sure of what you're up to, but if you'd rather have me watch while you shower..." Brett furrowed his brows as his voice trailed off and closed the space between them in two long steps. He placed a hand between Eddy's head and the bedpost, not liking Eddy hurting himself like that at all. 

"Stop that," he ordered softly, trying to sound stern but sounded more concerned.

" People do a lot of dumb things in the bathroom so I understand but like... Privacy is nice" Eddy took into account the small offer Brett gave, he wasn't sure if having the stern man watching him was any better.

He frowned slightly, feeling Brett's hand stop the impact, " You ruined my rhythm..." 

However, Brett's hand didn't stop him from trying again.

Brett placed his other hand under Eddy's chin in an attempt to make him stop.

"Just stop it," Brett sighed, shaking his head. "But yeah, I mean, I get that privacy is nice, but you haven't exactly proven yourself trustworthy with your escape attempt."

" If you were in my situation wouldn't you try too?" Eddy huffed, his shoulders slumping forward. Maybe it was a signal that he gave up on bashing his head, for the time being.

"Fair point, but I think I would recognize there's no point in trying now. Besides, I could consider letting you go in exchange for information, you know," Brett said with a shrug. He let the hand under Eddy's chin drop, but still kept his hand between Eddy's head and the bedpost.

" Being here or there, things wouldn't be different. It's better to keep my mouth shut, " Eddy grumbled thinking of the consequences, not even Alex would help him out if he got in trouble with the organization. He'd probably be killed or tortured anyways, putting that in consideration Brett wasn't a bad bet.

"I'm sure you'll get comfortable here eventually," Brett said, straightening his glasses. A tiny smile played on his lips as the hip roll quickly moved to the front of his mind. "Even though your girlfriend isn't here."

" Probably not," no matter how long he'd be there it would never be a safe place, he'd always be an outsider trapped without choice, " With how much you bring up my girlfriend it almost sounds like you want to be her"

Eddy didn't like how Brett was talking, it unnerved him how the man seemed to make no plans of killing him or torturing the information out of him. For a captive situation it was going all wrong. By this point he might have been trying to get a rise from the cold man as a way to vent his own frustrations.

"You sure thought I was for a moment earlier, though, didn't you?" Brett teased with a raised eyebrow and a sly smile. He was definitely screaming on the inside at Eddy's words, though. "You're into being pinned down, huh?"

Eddy's face blazed red as the embarrassment crept in, damn instincts. It didn't really help Alex and Brett shared some of the same facial structures and a rather similar body type. 

So maybe the statement wasn't completely wrong, his body sure thought it was right. He tried to gauge what to say or do. He eyed Brett's expressions to read the situation. 

Eddy bit the corner of his lip before licking it nervously in an anxious manner. Slowly he nuzzled his face against the hand that was keeping him from the wood.

" Would that be so bad?" Answering the two questions with his one seemed to be an effective tease mixed with the gesture. He was hoping to get Brett uncomfortable enough to drop the subject.

"You tell me," Brett said, sounding nonchalant while feeling his heart rate go up and the mild panic as his hand automatically moved to stroke some strands of hair from his forehead. He knew better than to trust Eddy, no matter how much his heart wanted to.

Eddy was surprised that Brett didn't automatically pull his hand away. It was also surprising he didn't get hit like he half expected. The stroking to some of his hair strands was much better than being punched though.

" I don't know..." Eddy hadn't come up with a response to this scenario.

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not her," Brett sighed, pushing some of the longer strands behind his ear before letting his hand drop. "I'm sure you miss her a lot."

" It can't be helped I suppose," Eddy titled his head to the left as he observed Brett more, finding it hard to determine the mood. One thing he did know was he could feel the man's pulse pick up when he was allowed to nuzzle against one of those dainty hands.

"Maybe not," Brett shrugged, running a hand through his own hair. He could feel himself get soft from their little intimate moment and the image of Eddy's face as he pushed his hips up earlier flashed through his mind.

Eddy started to chew on his bottom lip as he watched Brett a quick thought crossing his mind; maybe the older male was into it, after all he didn't seem to mind, " Um sorry I guess, if I made you uncomfortable"

He could play along with this.

"Not at all, you know me. Nothing affects me," he shrugged, leaning on the bedpost for a moment. He wasn't even sure what he was doing there anymore, or maybe even in the first place. Did he really need to talk to Eddy after the escape attempt?

" actually we haven't talked in years, I don't know you that well anymore" Eddy contained his small smirk that threatened to merge, " But maybe that could change...?" 

An imagination crossed his mind, a bloody one of the older male in mid climax never reaching the finish for Eddy would slit his throat before that. 

He felt a bit guilty for thinking of such a thing, although it wouldn't have been the first time doing that to someone. It was better to use what someone wanted against them than brutish tactics. Now the question was, did Brett want him?

"I haven't changed much, as you probably have noticed if your sharp observation skills haven't dulled too much since we stopped working together," Brett said, raising an eyebrow at the change in Eddy's tone. He still found himself playing along, though, for reasons he didn't really understand himself. "But your life seems to have changed quite a bit..?"

" hmmm they might have dulled, after all it doesn't seem like I'm doing too great at my job. You seem to be doing pretty well though, " Eddy wanted to lean back or rest against something but that meant having to work around the cuffs, " Yeah a lot has changed..."

Some for good and some for worse if the dead look in his eyes said anything about bitter memories.


	9. Favourite Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I noticed something went wrong with posting this chapter the first time, so I hopefully fixed it

"You didn't exactly have luck on your side at your escape," Brett snorted, a smile playing on his lips. He argued with himself that maybe this was the way to get Eddy to talk? By just chatting?

" if I only was looking forward, damn it. I guess this is why they say don't look back." Eddy groaned knowing it wasn't the time to be upset with himself but he was moping over it.

"Yeah, I mean, you practically ran into my arms," Brett teased with a chuckle. "Thought running was basic training, ey?"

" It is... I don't know what came over me. I guess I was just scared, no matter the amount of training the anxiety never seems to leave" Eddy willed himself to seem vulnerable, it wasn't completely a lie but also it wasn't completely the truth. He knew what it was like to literally have the anxiety beaten out of him, to fail was to die, the mantra rang in his ears. Being a failure put to a shameful death was worse than a small anxiety attack. He awkwardly brought his knees to his chest to help with the illusion he wanted to make: Weak.

"Scared, huh? Never thought I'd hear you admit to being scared," Brett said, sitting down next to Eddy on the bed while keeping an eye on where Eddy was keeping his arms and legs. Getting kicked wasn't part of his plan for the day.

Eddy simply rested his cheek on his knee since he couldn't exactly hug his legs like the position was mostly intended for, " it's probably stupid to be telling you about it."

"Do you think it'll make a difference?" Brett asked, leaning back on his arms. "Me knowing or not, I mean?"

" Probably. It's like what police tell the people they arrest, 'You have the right to remain silent, everything you say can be and will be used against you'. Fear is a great way to control people. Could either make or break me, you know? " Eddy pulled at the cuffs listening to the chains clink, the more he spoke the more Brett seemed to buy it. He wasn't completely sure since he couldn't see inside Brett's head but he'd still try to manipulate what he could.

"You know me well, of course I'd use something like that against you, right?" Brett chuckled, looking at where the cuffs rubbed against Eddy's wrists. "Uncomfortable?"

" I wouldn't expect any different from you," Eddy in fact planned on it, playing stupid could be smart in some cases. Until it was actually just plain stupid like running head on into the person who captured you, " Are you pleased to see my discomfort?"

"Not really, no. Why do you think you have this room, anyway?" Brett explained, hinting to the large bed and otherwise nice room. "Or did you think I treat all my captives this nice?"

" Maybe you want to seduce your captives, I don't know if that's unusual for you or not" He decided to keep the comment of how it looked like a honeymoon suite to himself.

"Sometimes that's useful, and I'll admit it has happened, but I wouldn't say it's among my usual tricks," Brett chuckled. "Why, do you think I'd be able to seduce you?"

" The sheets are fucking silk, it's hard not to think of certain things. Also you have me handcuffed to a bed, sends some creeper vibes" The corners of his mouth pulled into a grin as he giggled," It would be no fun if I told you that I was vulnerable to being seduced, or not now would it? "

"Only the best for my favourite guest, eh?" Brett joked like he would back in the day, running a hand through his hair again. "And I wouldn't need to have you handcuffed to the bed if you didn't decide to try and run off."

He didn't comment on the last part, his stomach making a flip at the thought of being able to seduce Eddy.

" I wouldn't consider myself being a guest restricted to one room. But besides that, aw I'm your favorite? Didn't know you felt that way, Bretty? " Eddy snickered trying to joke back ," I'll be a good pet if you at least uncuff me from the bedpost"

His back was hurting from hunching over and he was seriously debating on giving Brett puppy dog eyes with a pout.

"Currently the only guest," Brett informed him without thinking about it. "So you'd be the favourite anyway."

He eyed up Eddy's position, considering if it was a trick or not. Admittedly, it didn't look particularly comfortable.

"I can change it up, cuff you to the headboard instead so you can lie down," he offered instead of his solution. Rule one when keeping prisoners was to never let them have their way. "Though that might make the creep level spike through the roof."

" Guess I don't have to compete for attention then," Eddy licked his dry lips, perhaps he could just break a thumb to slip out of the cuffs. Then again it didn't sound worth it, " All I said was I wanted off the bed post.. the headboard might not be too bad. " He paused to think," Although for my shoulder it wouldn't do good to be stuck in that position, not that you would care though. Surprised you didn't have anyone shoot me again for trying to escape. " 

He knew Brett already apologized for it but he was honestly surprised.

"Yeah, sorry again about your shoulder. Victor is a bit trigger happy," Brett shrugged. He tried to think of some better way of cuffing Eddy while talking. "And you probably realized by now you're more useful to me alive than dead. Don't think I'd hesitate to kill you if you were anywhere close to getting away, though."

" At this point I kinda deserve to be shot in the head anyways so it doesn't bug me if it came down to you killing me" Eddy shrugged with a small wince realising it wasn't a good idea to move it if unnecessary.

"Why do you think you deserve to be shot?" Brett asked, sounding almost worried. He kind of was, but also he had found another opening to get information.

"To fail is to die, Brett. Failures have no place in this world if they can't even do simple tasks." Eddy glared at his arms as he spoke the mantra coldly, it was almost as if it was burnt into him; rewired even, " You should know that with the crime you run, if someone is useless to your operation you get rid of them. You can't sacrifice the vision for one person, but you can sacrifice them if it means success. "

"I'm not sure if I should feel hurt by the fact that you consider killing me a simple task..." Hearing Eddy's words actually kind of hurt. His heart ached at the thought of Eddy feeling like he had no place in this world.

"You should know, though, that I don't run my business like that. I believe in second chances, if proven worthy."

" I could have snipped you from the next building over if I wanted to, your head isn't exactly bullet proof. "

Eddy quirked an eyebrow trying not to think on the storm in his head," For a man in your profession you are very innocent and very naive for someone who speaks a big game" 

He seemed skeptical that Brett ran it differently but he supposed the idiot guards somehow still had their jobs, so maybe it was true.

"No, but my office window is," Brett shrugged, still considering if there was a better way to keep Eddy cuffed. "I don't need to be hard on my guys for loyalty, and precautions, like bulletproof glass or keeping you in cuffs right now keeps me safe."

"Wise choice. I could have gotten you during the meeting too but I froze you would have been dead if I didn't stutter," This is why Eddy didn't like getting personal with his targets. "Also, you know I could get out of these cuffs if I wanted to, so I wouldn't exactly call it safe. Killing you just isn't worth a broken thumb. Don't rely on your tools so much or surroundings it could get you hurt someday. You can't trust things even if it seems foolproof. " He slumped more over his legs ready to disappear.

"You're absolutely right, I would've been dead now if you hadn't hesitated," Brett agreed. "But my precautions have kept me alive for a while, despite them obviously not being foolproof."

" But they might not always work, you still need to be careful and not let it lull you into a false sanctuary. " Eddy waited patiently as he stared into space.

"You seem strangely worried about my safety for a guy who has tried to kill me," Brett pointed out as he stood up. "You wanna swap to be cuffed to the headboard?"

" Maybe I just want the honor of doing it, or a challenge. Or maybe I have other silly reasons. " Eddy looked up at Brett as the man stood with a simple nod and a , " Yes please."

Brett raised an eyebrow at him while getting the key to his cuffs from his jeans pocket.

"Well, I suppose I should be careful when uncuffing you now, ey?" he said, twirling the key between his fingers for a moment before grabbing hold of Eddy's wrist with one hand and unlocking the cuffs with the other. "But I suppose you realize we're being monitored and my guys would be here within seconds if you were to do anything funny." It was a lie. Nobody was sitting in the control room right now, but Eddy didn't need to know that.

" I'm stupid sometimes but I'm not that stupid," Eddy simply let Brett, his posture was of someone who had given up. He offered a small smile before it faltered back into his frown, " They're not the brightest I'd probably have two minutes to jump out the window. Maybe just lay in the garden a bit after jumping then accepting fate. "

Brett chuckled as the cuffs came undone on one wrist, and he led Eddy to the headboard by the still attached cuff.

"If you can get out between the bars of the window, yeah. I mean, you're not exactly the fattest guy around, but I don't think even you'd fit."

Eddy shuffled over to where he was guided without complaint, " They're bound to have a weak point, maybe I could find them." He murmured burying himself in thought," You know if you do change your mind about my use alive and decide to execute me. You should do it in the garden. It's very pretty. Blood would go well with the roses, especially the white ones because of the color contrast, " he smiled again watching the man," Sorry I'm just spewing nonsense you can ignore it if you want"

"I'll keep that in mind, although it's not likely I'm going to execute you anytime soon," Brett admitted as he locked Eddy to the headboard of the large bed. He tried his best to ignore the sexual picture his mind created and combined with the hip roll from earlier while doing so.

" It would be a lovely death, probably better than what I deserve considering my job...Thank you" Eddy tilted his head to the side with a smile as he tried to get his shoulder into a more comfortable position. Lying down felt nicer than being hunched over but he also felt a bit more exposed, " The sheets are soft so are the pillows" 

He murmured softly while lightly rubbing his cheek on it a few times since he couldn't feel it with his hands.

"Do you always act like a kitten when kept captive, or is that just for me?" Brett teased as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He couldn't help but smile just a tiny bit. "No, but on a more serious note, would you like any more painkillers for your shoulder?"

" Only for you I guess since it's not a typical captive situation" Eddy pursed his lips.

" No thank you. Last time they knocked me out, I think I rather stay awake and aware even if it's a bit painful. I'll survive... ," He didn't like sleeping while in enemy hands, many things could happen.

"I was thinking just some ibuprofen or something, but it's up to you," Brett shrugged, standing up to escape his urge to push aside some hair that had fallen in his eyes. "But you realize you do need sleep, though."

" I don't need it, sleep is for losers," Eddy prompted childishly, his tongue poked out slightly as he bit occasionally down, " it is still a no but thanks for asking"

"Alright, can't make you," Brett shrugged, pacing to the other side of the room to draw the curtain and to make his mind shut up for a bit.

" Well you could make me but it wouldn't be that conventional" Eddy hummed, willing his memories to be drowned, it wasn't a great idea to discuss such things, " Hey could you help me fluff the pillows. I think it may help my shoulder."

Brett turned and looked at him, considering if it was a trick as he always would. Eddy was a smart guy, but Brett had to be smarter. However, he found no way Eddy could do anything to him while fluffing his pillows for him.

"Sure," Brett shrugged, walking over to him. He didn't think he'd be this close to him doing it, but the pillow was partially trapped between the mattress and Eddy so he had no choice.

" Thank you" Eddy blew some hot air against Brett's cheek playfully. His eyes wandered over the older male's face as if examining, which he was. The man was leaning close enough that Eddy could make out his moles and tiny random freckles, " You're so close I would think this was a reenactment of the prince kissing sleeping beauty." He chewed the corner of his lip. Brett simply couldn't prevent himself from blushing, no matter how hard he tried or how much he wanted to. It was silly to let old feelings flare up again like this.

"Only flaw with that is that you're not sleeping," Brett found himself muttering back as he positioned the pillow. He tried his best not to meet Eddy's eyes in the process.

"Should I be concerned that you think me not sleeping is the only problem in that inference and not the fact the prince kisses her awake" Eddy tried his best to help Brett get the pillow out from under him by deliberately arching up a bit. He was catching on to the attention he was being given.

"Nah, I'm all about consent," Brett mumbled, fluffing up the pillow before placing it back. He could feel his judgement slipping and he knew he had to get out of there to gather himself. He took a step back, feeling his cheeks burn. "Anything else? Or I'm heading back to bed again."

"Consent is a very attractive thing," Eddy hummed softly as he laid back flatly on the mattress, " If I find something I can figure it out myself, go get your sleep Brett you seem really tired'

"You're cuffed, remember? Don't try any funny business," Brett sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'll have one of the boys check in on you to see if you need anything."

"cuffs are just a small hindrance if I become desperate enough. '' Eddy glanced at the metal then back to Brett," okay, can't promise I won't bite them"

"Try your best to avoid it, rabies vaccines are kinda expensive," Brett joked, placing his hand on the door handle. "See you tomorrow, sleeping beauty."

  
  



	10. Wet (nsfw)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is nsfw and is written by TSVhide. It's rather short.

Leaving Eddy looking all vulnerable in the cuffs was one of the hardest things he'd done in a while, and after telling the new guy to check if the prisoner needed anything in an hour or so, he headed for his room again. 

He felt the drowsiness make his eyelids heavy as he slowly unbuttoned the black shirt that he had put on before talking to Eddy. His mind flashed to an image of his prisoner unbuttoning it for him, but a light slap to his own cheek snapped him out of that. 

“You left these feelings years ago, just bury them again, you idiot,” he muttered to himself as he pulled up his sweatpants and dumped down on his bed. He crawled under his duvet, laying on his back with his head resting heavily on silky bed sheets. 

Brett stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom for what felt like hours, trying his best to make his mind shut up and let him sleep without all these thoughts. Every time he closed his eyes he could see his face, could feel the moment the pressure between his legs increased as Eddy pushed his hips up. It was wrong to want it, and he knew that. 

His eyes kept drooping closed as sleep overtook him, but every time he forced them open. That was until he couldn't fight it anymore, and the memory of Eddy's hot breath against his chin filled his mind. 

… 

_ “Come on, Brett, you know you want this,” Eddy purred. Brett's eyes flew open to see Eddy's face staring up at him from between the silk sheets. His hands were free, reaching up to caress his cheek.  _

_ “I… I do, but… “ Brett stuttered, voice trailing off when Eddy pushed his hips up, letting their groins brush against each other. He hadn't realized how hard he was until he felt Eddy's equally hard trouser tent.  _

_ “Have me, Brett, please,” Eddy whimpered, and the next thing Brett knew he was on his knees between Eddy's legs, pressing his erection against Eddy's opening. How he'd gotten there was a bit blurry, but god did he want this.  _

_ “We shouldn't, Eddy, your… Your girlfriend... “ Brett whispered, despite wanting nothing more than to push his hips forward. He let out a moan when Eddy pushed his hips up, taking him in! _

_ “Forget her, I want you,” he groaned, wrapping his legs around Brett's hips to keep him there. Brett could feel his orgasm sneaking up on him faster than he expected.  _

_ “Eddy, Eddy…! I'm gonna… “ _

_ …  _

Brett's eyes flew open just as the orgasm washed through him like a tsunami. He found his hand down the front of his sweatpants, covered in his own cum. His hair was clinging to his forehead with sweat. 

“Holy fuck,” he gasped, feeling ashamed of himself as he tried to catch his breath. Eddy was his prisoner! And he had a girlfriend! This was as far from okay as Brett thought it could get. 


	11. Insomnia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short little chapter

Eddy stared at the ceiling deep in thought,” _ Surely Brett must have noticed my sudden mood change. It’s obvious no one goes from all that venom to showcasing so much vulnerability. But if so he didn’t seem to care. In fact it even seemed he bought into it or he was just playing along to lure me into a trap”  _

Eddy groaned from thinking himself into a hole, he was too paranoid to come to a conclusion. 

On another note he was able to map out portions of the mansion before he had been tackled into anxious oblivion. He burnt the twists and turns to memory for his next attempt. If he had an opportunity that was. 

“ Brett Yang,do you want me, I wonder?,” Eddy giggled to himself with a small head tilt to the side. He eyed the camera knowing that Brett was probably asleep instead of watching him, so it didn’t really matter if he asked such a fruitless question out loud,” maybe that’s why you put me in a room that’s like a honeymoon suite. Perhaps it’s all apart of your plan.” 

_ “ how creepy if that’s the case.”  _ he kept that thought to himself not thinking it would help his cause much to flat out call his target a creep, especially when he wanted to manipulate that desire –if it was there– but he had another problem besides that. Could he do that to Alex? It was wrong on so many levels to do that to his lover. Sure both of them have used questionable methods before but they were typically able to talk about it before anything too serious happened. Sadly the assassin didn't think he'd get an opportunity anytime soon to have Alex okay his plan. A sigh escaped Eddy’s lips, he was many bad things,but despite that he was very loyal.

His stomach twisted into something sickening as he thought more on it, but what other choices did he have. He needed to buy time, which he could do through a false pretense of friendship. However, Brett wouldn’t fall for as easily given friendships in their world didn’t really mean anything except having to watch your back around those you trusted most. Seduction on the other hand was indulgent, luring someone into taking what they wanted. It was a powerful tool for getting information or exposing someone's vulnerability. This was a tactic he was familiar with when he had to use cunning definitely not his favorite thing. He would rather just shoot someone without getting up and personal, it was much easier that way. He didn’t have to see their faces, he didn’t have to know who they were when they were met with a barrel of a gun. This was much harder because he had to will his own vulnerability to rip their safety from them when it was trusted with him.

Any further failure in his ten days wasn’t an option though, he would finish the job by any means possible. 

_ “ Alex is this okay? Would you forgive me? I know it’s only a job and business to you when it comes to the downright filthy, but is it okay for me to exploit it? If it gets me back to you it may be worth the guilt”  _ Eddy tried to turn his head to hide in the pillow,” Are you even looking for me?” 

He tried to hold back any tears that threatened to escape. It had only been a day but his doubts were flooding in about the strength of that promise,” Find me soon kay?” 

“ Who are you talking to?” Ray slipped into the room curiously after an hour had passed,” You should be asleep.”

" To myself like a crazy person can't you tell" Eddy scoffed trying to cover up how tense he became when a man he didn't know entered," What do you want?"

" Well the boss told me to check on you in an hour to see if you needed anything. So do you need anything?" Ray spoke softly and calmly trying not to make a big fuss out of it. The task was simple enough.

" I don't need anything at this moment," Eddy eyed Ray over a bit suspiciously," You can leave now."

" As you wish but I will be back in the next hour," Ray quickly stalked off making sure to lock the door.


	12. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is written by both of us, I am sure the pattern can be seen by now XD   
> It has proven hard to keep a normal posting schedule.

Brett took a deep breath before moving the tray to hold with one hand and unlocking the door to the guest room. He had felt nervous about how it would look for him to bring the prisoner breakfast himself, but he had his excuse ready.  _ 'There's nobody I trust more than myself to make sure he doesn't kill anyone with a plate.' _

"You up?" Brett asked softly after cracking the door open slightly, making sure Eddy wasn't preparing some kind of attack before peeking inside.

Eddy was right where Brett had left him, lying on the bed still perfectly cuffed. It seemed that the prisoner didn't tamper with them; despite being so adamant about his capabilities of being able to if he so wanted.

Eddy bit his tongue to keep himself from making a snarky remark of being up since last night. Instead he simply said, " Yeah I am up"

"I brought breakfast," Brett informed him, taking a step inside and closing the door behind him. "You still like toast with butter, right?"

" If it's not laced with poison I still like it, but if it is I think I'll pass" He joked dryly although he was actually that paranoid

Brett couldn't help but smile slightly at the joke.

"I'd kill you already if I wanted you dead," Brett tried to assure him, setting the tray containing two pieces of toast and a cup of coffee.

Eddy shifted trying to get himself in a sitting up position. Which proved difficult with his hands cuffed to the headboard.

" I always thought you would be a fan of watching someone have a more torturous death"

He let a grin graze his lips before yawning.

"Do you feel tortured, though?" Brett asked, raising an eyebrow. He ignored his heart fluttering at Eddy's smile.

" Compared to other things I'd say no," Eddy tilted his head ever so slightly before readjusting himself once again.

Brett pulled the keys to the cuffs out of the pockets of his trousers.

"I thought I'd uncuff you so you can eat, but if you try anything funny I will have you sedated," Brett said calmly, expecting an affirmative answer from him.

Eddy stared at the key for a good while as he weighed his options. His face scrunched up slightly at the mention of being sedated, something he didn't like at all, " I'll be good for you then"

He bit the corner of his lip.

The cuffs came off with a click, Brett's heart skipping a beat or two because of how close Eddy was as he reached over him to unlock him. He tried not to remember his dreams, but it was almost impossible not to.

Eddy looked up at Brett with his tired eyes, waiting patiently. As soon as the cuffs came off, he was rubbing his wrists trying to sooth the rawness, " Thanks" he murmured as he watched Brett.

"I prefer my guests to be comfortable," Brett said, giving him a tiny smile. "As long as they behave."

" I'm your prisoner not your guest," Eddy corrected, his tone wasn't as sharp as it had been when it came to the first interrogation. It was only mildly defiant, " I make no promises about my behavior. I like to bite"

He giggled sleepily, now that he was done rubbing his wrists he rubbed his eyes.

"Pretty much the same thing," Brett shrugged, leaning on the window sill. He wanted to sit down next to Eddy on the bed, but knew his brain wouldn't be able to keep calm if he did. "You can bite into that toast, if you need something to keep your mouth busy."

" One of many ways to keep my mouth full and busy I suppose," Eddy wasn't sure if he was trying to joke or flirt through a small insinuation. Either way Brett’s reaction would help him determine the strength of his plan.

He now sat up completely reaching for the toast nimbly. He examined it first in his hands then brought it up to his nose sniffing it carefully. It never hurts to check for cyanide or arsenic before biting into supposedly harmless food.

Brett pretended he didn't hear the little joke Eddy made, but a tiny hint of pink could be seen just under the shadow from his glasses on his cheekbones. He watched Eddy inspect the toast, expecting no less from a trained assassin, but still feeling a little hurt that he felt he had to.

Eddy deemed it safe enough to put in his mouth, so that's exactly what he did. He took small nibbles at first which turned into large chomps as he occasionally made a few pleased humming noises.

"Nice to see you're liking it," Brett said, running a hand through his hair. He had actually cooked for Eddy himself, even though he could have had the guards do it.

" I like toast so duh I like it. It's perfectly toasted to a golden brown as well," Eddy glanced over at Brett, but mostly tried to hide himself from the watchful gaze while eating.

"Cooked it myself," Brett said, moving over to the dresser and closing a drawer that was still half open. He still kept Eddy in his peripheral vision all the time, not completely trusting him.

" Can we consider making toast, cooking?" Eddy teased playfully as he pushed more of it into his mouth, trying to keep his pleased little sounds to himself.

"Maybe I should have poisoned it after all," Brett said jokingly, raising an eyebrow at him. He was trying so hard to not let himself fall for this friendship act, knowing Eddy's manipulation skills.

" Maybe next time you can try," Eddy quirked an eyebrow as he reached out for the coffee mug, he examined the liquid just as he did the toast but this time eyeing it for powders, " injections work better than gradually poisoning though. If you had laced any of this with arsenic I'd be just vomiting and maybe have some joint pain. At first at least."

"You're too clever, I couldn't poison you," Brett chuckled, acting less calm than he felt. Stupid feelings that should have been dead and buried.

Eddy nodded slightly wishing he felt clever, if he had been smarter about it he wouldn't have ended up in this place, " If you say so. '

He fidgeted with the mug.

"Don't you think? Maybe I should give it a go after all?" Brett asked, walking over and sitting at the other end of the bed. He didn't like Eddy's sad looking face.

" Nah not really, I think I might be naive enough to fall for dumb things or paranoid enough to get myself killed" Eddy gave a non-committal shrug, he quickly sipped at the coffee to try to un-muddle his foggy mind.

"Do you think I'm trying to trick you?" Brett asked him, partially because, well, he was trying to get information out of him, but also partially because he genuinely cared about the boy.

" I don't know," Eddy decided an answer that gave nothing away was good in this situation since blatantly talking of his distrust wasn't wise. He kept sipping at the coffee

"I guess you'll work it out in time," Brett sighed, licking his lips. He didn't want Eddy to distrust him, but he also didn't want to reveal that. "Coffee alright?"

" Yeah the coffee is good.. I really needed it," Eddy confided quietly, he decided to look at Brett since the man was sitting on the other end of the bed. Might as well make eye contact with him while he talks.

"Good, good. Just ask if you want coffee in the future, I'll get you some," Brett said softly, allowing his lips to curve slightly upwards. His mind flashed an image of him brushing his hair out of his eyes before tasting the coffee still lingering on Eddy's lips. Shit.

" But isn't that a waste of your time? Like you have this whole crime empire, shouldn't getting someone coffee be left to someone more simple, " Eddy let the mug warm his hands a few seconds longer before he set it down finally, " But thank you, it's a very nice offer"

He smiled at the man warmly.

Brett's heart felt like it was beating out of his chest from the beautiful smile, but he knew it very well could be a trick. It didn't really feel like a trick, though.

"Can't trust these guys with something as delicate as coffee brewing. They're more dirty work kind of guys," he explained, feeling his cheeks betraying his otherwise calm composure. "And as I said, I want you to be as comfortable as possible."

" Should I be concerned that the guys you trust to protect you, you don't even trust to brew coffee, " Eddy teased and laughed light heartedly finding it almost amusing, " I know you can take care of yourself, though so, it's probably not too much concern if you have to get your hands a little bloody."

Speaking of blood, Eddy's shirt still had a very prominent blood stain and hole from his shoulder injury, " Surely you have better things to do than to make sure I am comfortable Brett. Nonetheless, I appreciate seeing a familiar face coming to check on me every so often."

"It's nice catching up," Brett admitted before he could think about whether he should say it or not. "Speaking of bloody, though..." Brett mumbled, letting his eyes drop from Eddy's face and down to his shoulder. "How's your shoulder?"

" Admittedly I agree with you," Eddy definitely thought it was a weird thing to concede, especially considering their circumstances. He glanced at his shoulder and shirt when noticing Brett's own eyes dropped to it. The blood was a bit itchy and could have some bacteria, he should of cleaned it sooner but it wasn't too late for him to take it off.

" Well it's sore, from being in the same position all night when I technically shouldn't be rotating it ,but it's nothing I can't handle. I have had worse than a tiny bullet wound to my shoulder."

"I can get you a new t-shirt, so you don't have to wear the one with the bullet hole," Brett offered, leaning in to get a better look at it. "And have the new kid look at it? Apparently, he was a med student before coming to work for me."

" A new shirt would be nice. I'm going to take this one off anyway. The dry crusty blood is getting kinda itchy, " Eddy's hands found their way down to the rim of his shirt, " Why would a med kid become a criminal? Most med degrees have pretty promising futures. "

Brett could feel his pulse speed up at the realization he was likely about to see Eddy without a shirt on. He also realized that the motion of removing the shirt probably would hurt his shoulder.

"Do you need help with that?" he heard himself asking, blushing immediately after. "And uh, I don't know why, really. Something about not really fitting in. You can ask him sometime when he checks on you, pretty talkative guy."

Eddy paused in his movements, fingers still gingerly clasped the fabric but no longer were in motion," If you're offering, I guess it wouldn't hurt to accept a little help," he made sure to make nervous eye contact while he accepted, sure it was a bit weird but he could use it, " I don't really like talking to people I don't know, so I probably won't ask"

Brett crawled on his knees over to him, hesitating for a moment before taking a hold of the lower part of the fabric. He wanted it to look like this was no big deal, but he wasn't sure how well he was faking it.

"I'll ask him sometime," Brett said as he slowly pulled the shirt off him, careful not to hurt his shoulder more than necessary.

Eddy tried to be helpful by lifting at least one of his arms so it could be slid off over his head fairly easily despite the arm with his injured shoulder being down by his side. 

He stayed quiet until the shirt was off, " He might be surprised with you actually asking" 

He grinned slightly before looking at himself, the pale scarring was never fun to see ,but he had grown to accept it after awhile.

After a short moment of catching his breath and gathering his thoughts, Brett found his voice again.

"I know everyone working for me on some level" Brett shrugged, trying to keep the conversation normal despite not finding it in him to move back to the edge of the bed.

Eddy used one of his hands to cover the branded number –layered in ink–on the left side of his chest; Almost finding it to be a dear and intimate thing even if a branded mark, " that must help with the morale and loyalty around here to take the time to do so. It's very wise" he complimented softly.

Brett really tried to keep his eye locked to Eddy's face, but when he found his eyes running down his muscular arms he knew he had lost that battle.

"I like to know properly who I'm dealing with," Brett mumbled, still holding Eddy's shirt in his hands.

Eddy followed Brett's eyes wondering if he should make a comment about it or not. He went against his better judgement.

" Makes sense.... Do you like what you see? Your eyes are roaming a bit or maybe it's all the scarring that caught your attention?"

"I uh..." Brett blinked a few times to collect his thoughts, forcing his eyes away. His cheeks were burning. "Just wondering how you got so scarred up, but I suppose it's part of... of the job…"

" I could tell you some of the stories if you'd like. I remember most of them" Eddy ignored Brett's fumbling for words for the sake of the elders' pride.

"Which do you remember the best?" Brett asked before even thinking. In his head he cursed himself out for letting himself be weak and vulnerable like this.

Eddy glanced over his body quickly, " this one" he traced a vertical scar that went from his sternum to his belly button," I got it on one of my first solo jobs, which I'm still pretty sure was just a set up to off me if I wasn't worthy of my number. " He murmured softly trying to gauge if Brett actually wanted the full story.

"Your number..." Brett echoed, thinking about something. He quickly snapped back to reality. "Looks bad, how did it happen?"

He could feel his eyes following the line down, trying not to combine this new image with the ones from his dream.

Eddy moved his hand slightly to show a small glimpse of the 909 so Brett could kinda know what he meant, " A crazy person," he giggled before actually telling

" It was in this old down butcher shop with these creepy old meat locker. Like where they would hang cow and pig corpses to freeze... It was pretty creepy especially when dealing with a crazy person. They have no qualms or concerns when it comes to life and death. So I was sneaking around only with a few knifes on me around this desecrated place, unknowingly walking right into a hell hole. It was so insanitary." 

He paused thinking deeply on the moment of what took place that day, " I got knocked out with a meat hook only to wake up strapped to a table with a crazed lady pressing a parrying knife to my sternum slowly dragging it down deciding where to gut me first among the already many butchered limbs" he was trying to make it less crude then how he could have depicted it.

"Well, how did you get out of that?" Brett asked, taking a mental note of the number. It made him feel sick to see him branded like cattle.

" Straps were a bit loose from all my flailing... Not one of my proudest moments as you can imagine. Also she forgot to strap my right leg so you can bet I kicked that motherfucker once in range, in turn that let me get my arms free" Eddy tapped slightly against his chest fingering a musical piece as he thought on it. Definitely not one of his finest moments with all the hyperventilating and screaming.

"That sounded more like how you deal with things, yeah," Brett nodded, smiling a bit. He could feel his guard being let down, and he knew that meant trouble. He couldn't stop it though.

"How about this one?" he asked, pointing to, and almost running his finger, across a scar on his forearm that caught his attention. He limited himself to just barely hovering his finger above his skin instead.

" I guess no matter how hard people tried they could never beat the nerves out of me" Eddy laughed about it finding it to be a completely typical thing. He followed Brett's finger to the next scar" I got this one from glass. Not like a typical window though, it was a windshield. That was more of my fault though. "

"Wind shield? Did you walk out in front of a car or something?" Brett asked, raising an eyebrow. The urge to run his finger over it was messing with his brain.

" Well kinda... More like jumped on its hood, gun in hand using that to shatter the glass then reaching to throttle someone's throat, " Eddy grinned morbidly," They tried to run... " He stretched his arm out slightly when noticing the intense look from Brett," You can touch it if you want. It indents into my skin slightly. "

Brett felt almost put on the spot, retracting his hand completely and his eyes flickered between Eddy's face and the scar.

"I uh... It's... Looks bad..." Brett stuttered, stumbling backwards on the bed as if he was scared, eventually halfway falling off it. It would be a lie to say he wasn't scared at all. He was mostly scared about the fact that he let himself lull into this sense of security, that he had let his feelings control his actions.

Eddy stared then his brows furrowed very confused on the reaction, " Are you okay Brett? Are you sick? Maybe you should get more sleep."

He suggested as if lack of sleep or a fever was the cause of Brett's strange reaction. He reached out brushing the back of his hand against the older male's forehead to check his temperature; of course it was normal, so he brought his hand back to himself determining Brett definitely needed more sleep, " you definitely need more sleep."

"I'm fine, I'm fine... I'm..." Brett mumbled before taking a deep breath. He needed to gather himself before speaking, or else it would end badly.

"I... guess lack of sleep isn't completely unlikely, seeing as my house guest tried to run off last night," he eventually managed to say, standing by the edge of the bed still with Eddy's shirt in one hand.

" I just like to be a thorn in your side I suppose." Eddy smirked slightly before his features softened," I really didn't mean to wake you up though, but I guess that was a given because of the nature of what I was doing," he gave a small crooked and awkward smile.

"Reminds me I still haven't checked the video tape from last night," Brett said, running a hand through his hair and straightening his glasses to hide his blush. "I should do that."

" You won't find anything incriminating but an insomniac." Eddy stood up slowly to make sure not to startle Brett since he was a bit antsy," I can take my shirt back though so you aren't carrying it through the hallway."

"Oh uh right, yeah," Brett said, handing it back to him, licking his lips as he did. "I'll get you a new shirt by the end of the day."

" Thank you, a new shirt will be lovely. I'll try not to ruin it with bodily fluids like I did this one" Eddy nodded as he took the garment back.

"Right, I'll... I'll drop by... Later," Brett mumbled, grabbing the tray with the breakfast items and the cuffs. He looked at them for a moment. "Don't let me regret uncuffing you."

" I won't give you any regrets as of today. As for tomorrow I guess we'll find out" Eddy just grinned," See you later Bretty, have fun watching the footage" he flopped back on the bed.

"I guess I will," Brett muttered as he let himself out of the room, locking the door behind him. Holy shit he needed to get his act together.


	13. Shirt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is written by TSVhide. As always the next chapter should be out by next Tuesday.

Brett was quick to retreat to his room, his cheeks still burning from the interaction, only giving a quick order to Victor to guard the door and listen out for any funny business on the way. 

He sat down on his bed and took off his glasses before rubbing his face in an attempt to gather himself. Stupid feelings. They needed to go back to hell where they came from. He couldn’t allow himself to be this vulnerable with him.

It did feel nice to just talk to him, though, and to make sure he was as alright as the circumstances allowed.He enjoyed taking care of this prisoner, more than he should. Maybe it wasn’t so bad?

He gave himself a quick slap on the cheek to gather himself before going to his private bathroom to get some cool water in his face and to make sure no signs of his feelings were left on his face. It felt like his blush had stained his usual stone cold expression, making him feel more animated than usual. He couldn’t have that on the job. He was always on the job.

“You gave yourself one simple task. Get Eddy a shirt. Get the prisoner a shirt,” Brett muttered to himself in the mirror before turning on the faucet and splashing some water in his face. “Where do you get shirts? You can buy one. It would take up a lot of time, and it would be suspicious of how you really feel…”

He slapped himself again as he thought about how he felt before leaning on the sink. It was stupid. He didn’t feel anything, he told himself.

“You can get the boys to buy one. Maybe someone stylish knows what you’re talking about when mentioning quality…” Brett mumbled, staring at himself in the mirror while he thought about all his guys. The only one who came to mind was a business partner overseas, which was ruled out. “What am I thinking? Those sheep don’t know shit about quality.”

Brett got his glasses back on and ran a hand through his hair. How could getting a shirt be this difficult? It was a stupid shirt for his stupid assassin who couldn’t even complete the job. Maybe, if he’d just managed to actually kill him, he wouldn’t have to deal with stupid feelings from years ago?

‘Just grab one of your old ones from the closet. They’ll probably fit him,’ he thought to himself, almost slamming the bathroom door open as he stomped over to his walk in-closet. He grabbed the first shirt he found, some kind of regular white t-shirt he usually wore under his shirt or for bed. It would do.

Ray gave him a strange look when handed the shirt and given the order to give it to the prisoner.

“Can’t have him die from pneumonia. Just some rags from the back of my closet,” Brett muttered as he headed for his office to actually get some work done. Stupid Eddy for occupying his mind.


	14. Eddy's Fun (Nsfw)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> through his boyfriend: Want or even something more, if the stuttering had told Eddy anything. Brett’s weakness would be Eddy's strength. 
> 
> He hummed to himself sniffing at the new t-shirt given to him by one of the guards. It looked a bit tight around the shoulders but certainly was long enough. He preferred baggier things, the white T-shirt would have to do.  
> He slipped it on with ease besides it sticking tightly “so Brett went to check the cameras ai? He may be watching the live feed then.” 
> 
> He thought deviously, he tried to tuck his face more into the shirt so the cameras wouldn’t pick up on the devilish grin that overtook his features. Was the plan he came up with the smartest one he ever had: No. But was it worth a try: Yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware this is nsfw and is also written by me

He had recognized the look in Brett’s eyes, it wasn’t a stare he got often, but was familiar with through his boyfriend: Want or even something more, if the stuttering had told Eddy anything. Brett’s weakness would be Eddy's strength. 

He hummed to himself sniffing at the new t-shirt given to him by one of the guards. It looked a bit tight around the shoulders but certainly was long enough. He preferred baggier things, the white T-shirt would have to do.

He slipped it on with ease besides it sticking tightly _“so Brett went to check the cameras ai? He may be watching the live feed then.”_

He thought deviously, he tried to tuck his face more into the shirt so the cameras wouldn’t pick up on the devilish grin that overtook his features. Was the plan he came up with the smartest one he ever had: No. But was it worth a try: Yes. 

Maybe it was the lack of sleep speaking,or maybe he had a small thing for exhibitionism. It was probably both. Being without sleep made it where the humiliation was almost appealing. The appeal came from the thought of how Brett would react to him openly being vulnerable. 

It was a tad warped; however, Eddy didn’t care if it would be his ticket to freedom. 

Ever so slowly he kicked his pants off then took off every other article of clothing and holsters/straps, until he only remained in a pair of tight red boy shorts and the t-shirt given. 

He fell back on the bed , feeling the silken sheets against his exposed skin. It was quite a pleasant feeling to have something smooth move against him with ease. Sadly he didn’t plan to just lay there rubbing against the sheets like a cat. No he had much more revealing plans than that. 

Eddy pulled himself up onto his knees, taking a pillow carefully between them. 

The pillow coverings were also made of blackened silk to match the bedding’s theme. 

Mentally he thought his captor was really good at decorating. He didn't say it out loud though, since his point was not to compliment Brett’s color coordination. His point of this was to tease the elder man in every way possible. 

Eddy sighed to the feeling of it moving against the inside of his exposed thighs, it shouldn’t be too hard to entertain the idea of what he was lowering himself too.

 _“ Think of Alex, imagine you’re home with him. Maybe he's about to come home and you want to be caught by him. Hmmm that sounds like a good fantasy. If I close my eyes it’ll be like I’m not even here,”_ He thought to himself whilst his hips slowly began to roll forward for him to only grind back in perfect rhythm as if he was running off of a metronome. It was tense, as the realization of how insanely desperate he was to try to escape thundered through his head forming anxiety. 

He sharply inhaled, the tension began to make his body quiver. It wouldn’t be any good if he couldn’t make it look natural. 

He pulled the rim of the shirt up to his nose, exposing his chest while taking in a big whiff of the fabric. It's scent was calming like fresh cardemums. He wasn't sure whose it was but he was pretty sure he had smelled something similar to it before. 

It helped him calm down, allowing his hips to move with ease: rolling leisurely. His mind zoned out trying to figure out how his boyfriend would touch him, which wasn’t too hard given they did it before this mission in the first place. Although it was never really sexy, more or less laughable.

_________

_Alex lightly poked at his lover's chest with a hum“ Hmm you like that yeah? You’re nipples are already peeking through your shirt, all I did was kiss them”_

_“Oh shut up that was definitely not a kiss unless you’re a sucker fish,” Eddy let his head lull back as his chest rose and fell with the sounds of his giggles._

_“You found out my secret, I’m actually one. Blub blub” Alex filled his cheeks with air whilst trying to make a fish face, this only served to make Eddy laugh more even as he was mounted._

_“You’re a fucking weirdo!” Eddy pressed his hands to the smaller males cheeks to squish out all the air he had filled them with._

_“Aw you love it come on admit it” Alex had stuck out his tongue like a little kid would._

_Eddy lifted his head to gently bite at the tip of the man’s tongue with a playfully growl. In the safety of their own walls they felt free to do whatever strange thing they wanted to do. His hands rested possessively on Alex’s waist, one daring to travel further down to rest on the smaller males ass—giving it a quick smack, “ What else are you good at sucking in that case?”_

_“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Alex only laughed._

__________

The memory broke with a small sigh and hum. He figured it out,” hmmm Brett.”

The shirt smelled like Brett _,_ no wonder it had felt like it was something he had been surrounded by before, most likely linking it into the time he was pinned to the floor by the crime boss.

He glanced down slightly, seeing the bulge growing in his underwear as his right hand continued working on one of his nipples: pinching it before lightly rolling the pink nub in his palm. 

His left hand held the shirt up so he could continue breathing it in, allowing the scent to comfort his being.

He panted lightly wanting to free himself from the fabric covering his cock, but he also didn't want to get the bed dirty. Whitish stains would be awkward to explain, even if the reason why could be seen on the tape.

" Hmmmmm" Eddy tilted his head to the side exposing his neck; his mouth fell open to let his moans out. Perhaps it could be considered embarrassing he was becoming like this from grinding against a pillow and pinching his nipples; his mind was in a different place so he could care less about what it looked like.

Maybe it was time to move it to the bathroom so he could dig deeper into his endeavors. The only problem was that he didn't want to move, he rather bend over, spread himself open and rub against the silky sheets. That would be so much more comfortable. Alas he valued cleanliness more than his own pleasure. After all this was just a show, not for his actual enjoyment. With a whimper he withdrew himself from the bed after stilling his motions. He quickly set to the bathroom so he could finish himself off. Once safely in the confinements of the enclosed room he stripped himself of the shirt and his boyshorts. He noticed offhand how some of the dried blood that had painted his body transferred onto the clean shirt in dried speckles. He probably should have cleaned the blood beforehand, so it wouldn’t transfer to the new shirt. Eddy chuckled to himself mirthlessly since it didn't really matter, he could try to scrub it off later with cold water.

The only thing left on him was the elven promise ring modeled after Galadriel's. He took the time to examine it with a fond smile, finding that it gleamed beautifully under the bright light. The way it sparkled reminded him of his lovers eyes, especially when they were doing something silly sweet together. 

Eddy pressed his lips against the metal as a silent reminder of their promises and a promise of his own to come back. 

" I love you," he mouthed gently on the gems before moving on to the precautions: he took the ring off not wanting to cause it any water damage, or to accidentally stick a finger up his ass while forgetting he was wearing something potentially injuring to his poor insides.

Softly he murmured his," I love you" again as if he was talking to the person who gifted him his treasure, then rested the ring onto the sink's counter.

With that out of the way he could trek to the shower, turning the knobs until water poured out of the shower head: hot and steamy just how he liked it. Stepping under it was a pleasure of itself, to feel the warmth cascading down his body was like being embraced. The warmth made him more comfortable with touching himself, now that he didn't feel as alone.

Once again he could pay more attention to his straining erection that was now lightly bobbing against his stomach; he was about average sized and uncut. His dominant hand cupped the base, slowly running his palm up the underside so his thumb could gently pull the foreskin down; revealing the blushed head already weeping with precum. 

"Hmmmm" the tip wasn't always the most sensitive part but everything on Eddy was over sensitive. Some places happened to be more so, besides that, it didn't really matter too much where he was touched.

The assassin glanced towards the camera through his lashes–eyes being heavily lidded–to make sure Brett could see how he pushed two fingers into his mouth; graciously moaning against them whilst his tongue swirled around, engulfing their lengths. He wondered if Brett would imagine him lapping at something else, maybe something bigger. If he ever got the opportunity he'd love to bite it off, feeling blood fill his mouth then pour down his chin. He'd love to see the horrified and pained expression on the icy man's face. 

Eddy gasped feeling his teeth sinking into the thin skin, he was thinking about biting certain things too much.

He quickly lightened up the pressure making sure he tasted no blood. Luckily no flesh was broken, they could still make it to their destination without being contaminated.

Slipping the digits from his mouth, he began to trail them down his neck,to his chest: smearing the spit across his nipples to only be washed away by the stream of water: Finally, he dipped them behind him for they had a different destination than his chest. They found their way in-between his cheeks, trailing down the crack until finding the small hole: puckered and tight. Entry wasn't just allowed but earned. 

First, with one finger he circled around the rim to relax himself. Then carefully pushed the tip into the muscle. Eddy repeated the process of massaging and pushing until the whole length of his index finger was hilted completely inside. His mouth immediately fell open to release a loud moan that bounced off the tile walls.

"Want more" Eddy whined to himself: one wasn't enough, he knew two wouldn't be enough either to satisfy his needs. He'd have to make it work though if his little show was going to be effective. Ah yes this was just a show not anything real.

Thus he proceeded by simply pulling his one finger out then pushed it back in, causing another whine to escape his lips. Maybe adding another wasn't too early. He nudged the tip of his middle finger against the opening, wiggling itself inside, " Oh yes!" 

His hips started to rock, snapping forward to grind his dick into his hand then snapping back to fuck himself on his fingers.

"More! ," Eddy called out to no one but himself, he wanted to impale his prostate instead of wiggling around it. He was done teasing himself, his fingers curled and scissored, making sure he could endure rougher treatment before plowing them where he knew his prostate hid.

His breath became harder as his moans became louder, the subtle arch in his back signaling his climax would come soon.

" FUCK!" With one last cry he spilled into the palm of his hand, the thick liquid being quickly washed away by the warm water. The only evidence of his doing was the slight redness to his entrance and swollen nipples from rough treatment. With a hiss he removed the digits slowly not wanting to hurt his oversensitive body," That's enough for today."

Eddy mumbled sleepily with a yawn. It was subspace nap time.


	15. Surveillance (Nsfw)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh, boss, I was just about to go get you! I… uh, the prisoner is doing… something weird?” Inu said, and Brett pushed past him to see what he was talking about. He clicked a few times to get to the camera angle that showed what Eddy was up to the best and got an intense red over his cheeks as he saw the compromised position he was in.
> 
> “Do you want me to go tell him to stop, sir?” Inu asked, and Brett had to blink a few times before being able to think of a coherent answer. Just the image that had burned itself into Brett’s mind made his body react.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by TSVhide

Brett ended up just pacing around his office, trying to get himself back into the headspace he needed to actually do some work productively and effectively. The sight of the camera in the corner of his office reminded him he should probably check how Eddy tricked the guards with his escape attempt to avoid it happening again. He was also curious, as it could be a useful trick to know for himself.

Long strides took him to the surveillance room, almost running into one of his guards as he opened the door to the darkened room. 

“Oh, boss, I was just about to go get you! I… uh, the prisoner is doing… something weird?” Inu said, and Brett pushed past him to see what he was talking about. He clicked a few times to get to the camera angle that showed what Eddy was up to the best and got an intense red over his cheeks as he saw the compromised position he was in.

“Do you want me to go tell him to stop, sir?” Inu asked, and Brett had to blink a few times before being able to think of a coherent answer. Just the image that had burned itself into Brett’s mind made his body react.

“No, no. Actually, Inu, I think you’ve done well today. I’ll take the surveillance for the shift, making sure the prisoner isn’t up to any funny business, and you go home and get a day with your girl. How does that sound?” he said, way calmer than he felt. Inu looked like he was very happy with that suggestion.

“You… you mean that, boss?” he asked, looking almost teary eyed. “It’s my girlfriend’s birthday… It would be perfect to come home to her early…” Inu explained, and Brett almost pushed him out the door at that point.

“Of course, Inu. Get flowers for her on the way home. Good luck!” Brett said before shutting the door behind him and locking the door. When he turned back to the screen, Eddy had his nose buried in the shirt he had given him, still with his hips moving against the silky pillow. He turned up the sound, trying to convince himself it was just to figure out what he was up to despite it being glaringly obvious. 

“Hmmm Brett,” he heard over the loudspeakers, and a shiver traveled down his spine hearing it. He dumped down in the little office chair, unable to pry his eyes off the screen in front of him. He found his own hand copying Eddy’s, breathing heavily as he touched his own nipple through the thin fabric of his button-up shirt. Eddy seemed to get more into it, and Brett matched it. In Brett’s mind, the hip roll was replayed, making Brett’s own respond. 

"Hmmmmm," Brett heard, watching as Eddy’s long, elegant neck was exposed to him. Brett imagined kissing it, marking it, making Eddy his. God, he knew he shouldn’t want that, but he couldn’t deny that he really did. His hand slid down to touch himself outside his pants, and he and Eddy let out moans together.

He watched Eddy get out of the bed, half expecting him to stop what he was doing, knowing he was being watched. Brett wasn’t sure if he was relieved about that not being the case, and he was quick to swap over to the camera in the bathroom as Eddy moved in there.

“God,” Brett breathed to himself as Eddy stripped, throwing the slightly stained white shirt to the side along with his underwear. He had seen Eddy in just his underwear before, but never without it. He let out a moan as he undid his zipper and pulled himself out in the open. He had never been a fan of live porn, but this was definitely something else. 

The ring Eddy usually wore was placed on the sink, serving as a reminder to Brett of how bad his current actions were. His arousal made thinking impossible, at this point he’d rather deal with the consequences later.

He wasn’t sure if Eddy knew how perfectly he had placed himself for the camera, how incredibly hot it was, how much it made Brett want to go to his room and have him. He got that confirmed when Eddy looked right into the camera through his lashes as he touched himself, and Brett felt like he was about to explode right there and then. His hand moved fast, his eyes fell closed for just a moment, trying to gather himself just slightly. He knew this was so wrong, he knew he shouldn’t want this. Oh god, he was going to hell for this.

When he opened his eyes again, Eddy had a finger up his ass, which wasn’t something Brett had expected to see, despite it not being completely surprising. Brett gasped louder than he was comfortable with while Eddy pleaded for more. He wanted to give it to him, wanted to fuck him.

“FUCK,” Eddy cried out, and Brett groaned as he came a moment later. His mouth was hanging open and he was all sweaty, sticky and gross. It took a while before he regained his senses, but when he did, he was quick to collect himself and make himself look presentable enough to slip back to his room, hopefully unnoticed.

“He’ll need a new shirt,” he muttered to himself, still with cheeks burning.


	16. Awkward Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You did try to make it interesting for me, didn't you?" Brett answered, voice only trembling slightly at the end of 'interesting'.
> 
> " What makes you think that?" Eddy flashed a playful smile, as he listened to Brett. He probably shouldn't willingly having this conversation, especially when he let his towel begin to slip over his slim yet prominent hip bones.
> 
> "You said my name," Brett pointed out, leaning his back against the wall by the door. He couldn't keep his eyes from gliding down Eddy's toned and scarred body, only halting where the white towel contrasted with his tan skin. "While humping a pillow."
> 
> Eddy's mouth fell open, his cheeks burning red from how blunt Brett was about it. Yet another thing he didn't expect from the older male, " The shirt smelled like you..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by both of us

Brett moved back down the hall with long strides, hoping to avoid meeting any of the guards. Thankfully, Ray was the only one nearby and he was a bit down the hall. He hoped he wouldn't see him as he entered his room and shut the door behind him with a groan.

"New shirt for Eddy..." he muttered to himself, pulling his own, stained, pants off and throwing them to the side. He'd get them cleaned later. He grabbed some dark jeans he had hanging over his office chair and slipped them on before going to his closet to grab another shirt for Eddy. That idiot, why didn't he clean off the blood before putting the shirt on?

His heartrate picked up as he stood outside the guest room again, giving it a soft knock before unlocking the door and peeking inside. As always, he made sure Eddy wasn't trying to attack him before entering. Could never be too safe.

Eddy was staring at the ceiling in his post masturbation subspace, whilst laying on the bed. The back of his left hand lightly pressed against his lips, most likely to have the ring close as he thought of everything yet nothing at all.

He was only clad in a towel that loosely clung to his hips, " hmmm?" 

He hummed slightly in inquiry not expecting anyone to come in right after.

"It's just me... Uh..." Brett realized he hadn't really thought about any reason to go there other than the shirt, but his brain was thankfully on his side today. "Just thought I'd check on you, and I guess bring you a new shirt."

He held out the new shirt for him, a black one this time.

Eddy turned his head to look at the crime boss, with slightly widened eyes. He cleared his throat, a blush creeping up his cheeks, " uh how'd you know I needed one?"

Of course the assassin knew how, but he was playing Brett the best he could with the shy act.

Eddy carefully slipped from the bed making sure his towel stayed up as he slowly approached. 

Brett's eyed widened at the realization that he'd been caught, and he couldn't think of any lie to tell either. He swallowed hard.

"T...there's cameras..." he stuttered, feeling his cheeks burn hot. His eyes slowly ran down Eddy's chest, and thank god he'd just masturbated.

Eddy glanced to the cameras within the room, making sure not to make eye contact with the man before him, " so you actually went to check the cameras and here I thought you were making up excuses to avoid me... "

He tried to joke awkwardly," Um.... Sorry that you had to see that, you're probably not into men doing weird things" 

Eddy cleared his throat then licked his dry lips.

Brett blinked a few times, trying to understand what he was saying through the sound of his own heartbeat in his ear. He took a deep breath and handed Eddy the shirt without looking at him.

"Saved poor Inu from watching it. I think he was grateful," Brett said while still trying to gather himself and his burning cheeks. He was on the job, and on the job there was no room for displaying emotions. He cleared his throat, doing his best to at least make it seem like feelings was foregin to him.

" Sounds like no one was there to save you from it" Eddy shuffled away from Brett to get his clothes, he preferred not to be naked in front of the guy who watched him. If he knew Brett was coming he'd be dressed by now ," So you saw it all then? I'm going to get dressed... "

"Not really no, so yeah, I did," Brett confirmed, running a hand through his hair. He didn't really know what to do with himself, as he wasn't exactly about to turn his back on a known assassin.

Eddy could sense Brett's gaze still on him as he gathered his clothing, " I doubt that me getting dressed will be as interesting as what you saw earlier. "

He shot a glance over his shoulder to stare Brett directly in the eyes.

Brett licked his lips and a obvious blush formed over his cheekbones, but apart from that he kept his posture well. Much better than he expected of himself. His mind was screaming with embarrassment, though.

"You did try to make it interesting for me, didn't you?" Brett answered, voice only trembling slightly at the end of 'interesting'.

" What makes you think that?" Eddy flashed a playful smile, as he listened to Brett. He probably shouldn't willingly having this conversation, especially when he let his towel begin to slip over his slim yet prominent hip bones.

"You said my name," Brett pointed out, leaning his back against the wall by the door. He couldn't keep his eyes from gliding down Eddy's toned and scarred body, only halting where the white towel contrasted with his tan skin. "While humping a pillow."

Eddy's mouth fell open, his cheeks burning red from how blunt Brett was about it. Yet another thing he didn't expect from the older male, " The shirt smelled like you..."

He said as of it cleared up why he said Brett's name, although he didn't even try to specify, he gasped Brett because he solved the mystery of the smell; not because he was thinking of Brett in any other way than murder.

"It came from my closet, so that's to be expected. Funny how you kept smelling the shirt, though. Thought you had a girlfriend," Brett said, raising an eyebrow at him. He tried to hide the tiny smile threatening to form on his lips, but wasn't really managing it.

" You smell like cardemums, it's a warm and a safe feeling scent–which is ironic considering who it belongs to–that's something I need sometimes especially being thrown into the unknown" Eddy sighed looking away, there was no use procrastinating on dressing himself any longer, since it seemed Brett wasn't going to leave or let him out of sight. Thus he dropped the towel then pulled his boy shorts on along with the black T-shirt. The assassin brought the fabric to his nose briefly to sniff, seeing if it smelled the same.

He preferred black a lot more over white.

Brett almost choked on his own spit when Eddy dropped the towel, but tried to hide it as a cough. His cheeks caught on fire again when he brought the fabric up to his nose to sniff it.

"I'm going to pretend that comment hurt, so you'll feel better about being here," Brett mumbled, though it actually kind of did hurt. He wasn't about to let Eddy see that, though. He wanted Eddy to feel somewhat safe around him, despite the circumstances. 

"Anyway, care to join me for dinner later tonight?" he asked, running a hand through his hair again with nervousness.

Eddy decided it smelled about the same but a bit stronger than the other, he wondered if it was recently worn by Brett but didn't ask. He rather keep the safe warmth to himself, " I'm not trying to cut you with my words, 'm just anxious,"

He wouldn't use the word scared, although the lingering fear of what was going to happen kept him paranoid.

Eddy took his leather holsters as he went to the bed, sitting on its edge so he could tighten them around his inner thigh and wherever else they'd be hidden under his cargo pants," Are you sure you want me to be there to ruin your dinner? Do you actually want me?" 

He murmured softly.

"I need to eat, you need to eat. Might as well take the time to catch up, ey?" Brett shrugged, watching as Eddy got some of his gear back on. He didn't mind him wearing it as long as he wasn't armed. "Can't be worse than eating alone, anyway."

  
  
  


" I don't need to eat, it's just a privilege to." Eddy shot back, only making brief eye contact before going back to tightening his stuff. He liked the feel of it against his skin, it felt anchored. It was familiar to him and he liked it, "... Being alone sucks..." He admitted quietly, it gave him too much time with his troubled mind.

"What nonsense, you need to eat like everyone else does. Even Victor needs to eat, if it was a privilege he wouldn't get to," Brett scoffed, shaking his head. "Thought you were used to working alone, though? Wasn't that what you wanted, when we parted ways?"

" I have had training for the worst situations such as starving during torture or imprisonment, trust me it's a privilege especially considering what this is," Eddy flopped back onto the bed with a yawn.

"No that wasn't what I wanted... Brett I will say this only once: Will you kindly shut up. You have no clue what harrowing things I have been through, you don't even know me anymore. So you have no right comparing me now to the person I was then. What has it been? 8 years? I can't say anything about you either because I don't know you anymore so please don't bring it up like it's just my fault..." Eddy spoke calmly although the sadness lingered in his eyes, he was always emotional when his post masturbation subspace was interrupted; he couldn't hide his worst qualities nor could he deal with them, he was exhausted–partly from not sleeping last night.

"Well then, all the better reason to catch up, isn't it?" Brett said, licking his lips again. He wanted to sound friendly, like an old friend should, but Eddy's words stung and brought out the flat voice he put on while at work. The voice he used to hide his true feelings. "That way neither of us has to be alone for a little while."

" That's if you want to since it doesn't seem I'm a really good friend or conversationalist" Eddy tried to joke despite the self depreciation to try to lighten the mood again, " I'll accept but if you change your mind I'll understand," his tone once again was gentle," Do you want to sit down for a bit?"

"Depends. Are you gonna try and kill me again? Because if so, I might decline," Brett said, much softer than before. His heart was screaming that there was nothing he wanted more than that though. They had been apart for so long, Brett had almost forgotten how it felt to actually feel something.

" I'm too sleepy to try to kill you at the moment, wait for me to wake up some more," Eddy giggled softly flashing a goofy smile to Brett. He didn't want to leave things on a bad note if they were to have dinner later that night.

Brett went over to the bed and sat down on the foot end of it, leaning back on his arms.

"I'll keep my eyes open," he said with a small smile. He felt his heart beat against his ribcage, and as soon as his ass hit the silky sheets he realized he had no idea why he had gone to sit with him. This was supposed to be him just handing him the shirt, nothing more.

Eddy rolled to his side so he could face Brett if they decided to talk. He was also comfortable with the silence if it came to it, " You're safe for now Yang" 

He curled up slightly.

Brett nodded and gave a small smile. Eddy looked a lot more like he remembered him from back in the day when he had fallen asleep on the couch after watching a movie or just didn't feel like sitting upright anymore after an exhausting job together. He missed it a bit.

"Do you live with your girlfriend, then, usually?" he asked, not really thinking about it as a question he'd ask for interrogation. He was just curious about how his life had turned out after they parted ways.

" Yeah we live together, just got an apartment actually. It's typically against regulations but the organization got tired of us sneaking into each other's dorm rooms" Dorm rooms was the best way he could describe the typical living arrangements, he wanted to elaborate on some things so Brett felt like they were having an actual conversation.

"Cute," Brett chuckled despite the sting of jealousy. He did take mental notes of everything that was said, though. "Sorry for messing that up for you, but it comes with the job, you know."

Eddy hummed slightly, he had hoped Alex would come save him or he'd escape to him, " It's protocol in your situation, if someone was sent to kill me I'd do something similar.... Probably more bloody though"

"You know I don't kill unless necessary, that part of me hasn't changed," Brett said, leaning his back against the bedpost he had Eddy cuffed to after his escape attempt. "Had you come here on your own initiative, on the other hand, you'd probably be dead now."

Eddy watched Brett lean back against the bedpost , " I could say the same to you, if it were my own will. It's just a job though." He shrugged slightly as he looked," But I like you alive," he spoke quietly, he didn't want to do it but he had to make a choice.

Brett nodded, followed by a small smile at the last part.

"I like you alive too. It was a struggle keeping you alive back then, though," he chuckled, smiling wider at the memory of a job they did together many years ago. "You seem to be managing that on your own now."

" I'm really danger prone if you haven't been able to tell yet," Eddy giggled slightly, part of him wanting to reach out for physical contact but knew it wasn't appropriate. He just liked it," decently, I've had my fair share of near death experiences."

"I have noticed," Brett confirmed as his eyes ran over the few scars Eddy's clothes weren't covering up. He kind of wanted to run a finger over them, but at the same time not. He was keeping his feelings for the boy pretty well hidden for now, and he wanted it to stay that way. "Your organization should have trained you to better deal with that, to not put yourself in unnecessary danger."

If Eddy were honest he would say the organization's training had wrecked him, he had never been as anxious until he completed it, it was awful. On the other hand the paranoia kept him alive. One thing the training was good at teaching, surviving.

The fear in his eyes couldn't be hidden with the mention of better training, it brought his mind to the thought of retraining, " I don't want to go through it again. No matter how much they say it's improved."

"That bad, huh?" Brett asked, furrowing his brows at Eddy's changed mood. "Wanna talk about it?"

Eddy shook his head quickly almost on instinct, " No!" He curled up on himself more before he could think about it.

"No, no, I'm not making you," Brett said quickly, feeling the need to stroke his arm or something to calm him. He wasn't completely sure what to make of his reaction, though. "Let's talk about something else, then."

Eddy moved an arm over his face to hide himself from whatever was tormenting his mind, most likely his own embarrassment from his rash reaction, " Okay," he had to keep himself from whimpering the reply.

"How about something nice, like your girlfriend? Is she nice?" Brett asked, trying his best to keep the jealous edge off his voice.

" Yeah very nice... At least to me," Eddy slowly moved his arm to look back at Brett, relaxing once again.

"Tell me about her? What makes her nice?" Brett asked, not realizing himself how he just wanted to be this girl. He caught his heart flutter again and blushed just a tiny bit.

" Well there's this weird sense of humor 'she' has. I don't know how to describe it, but whenever I'm down it somehow makes me laugh, " Eddy tried to find ways to describe Alex without giving up his real gender or the intimacy of their relationship; Some things were meant to stay private like how Alex would hold him at night through his sobbing, " She knows when to give me space and knows when I need someone. It's a balanced interaction that's never forceful, even if I'm being difficult. She listens even when things are trivial matters, it never seems to frustrate her. It's nice to be heard and understood. "

He spoke fondly of this person. Gosh he missed Alex.

Brett nodded a bit, not really knowing what to say at first.

"Sounds... Really nice," he said softly, shifting slightly. "Wish I could have that."

" I guess your job doesn't allow you much dating presence" Eddy gently reached out to Brett, putting his hand on the elders arm," but I am sure you'll find someone. If I remember right you're a good partner and a pretty good man. Anyone would be lucky to have you."

"You really think so?" Brett snorted, feeling like his arm was sparkling where Eddy touched him. "I don't feel like I am any of that. The job always has to come before how I feel, anyway."

" Yeah I'm certain. You're pretty good looking, you're loyal, funny, you smell nice and you're kind sometimes" Eddy gave a tender little squeeze before he brought his hand back to himself, " Things change, especially when you get older. You may want to have someone to cherish you even if you'll feel undeserving," he flashed a small smile.

Brett shrugged, licking his lips. He wanted to say he just wanted Eddy and that apparently nobody else would be good enough for him as he couldn't stop having this weird crush on him for years after they parted ways.

"Maybe."

" You also have a lot of other good qualities, you know? Who wouldn't be wooed by that" Eddy kept his eyes on Brett, keeping a soft expression to match his gentler tone, " That being said not everyone deserves you. One of the first guys I tried to date almost broke my jaw and successfully broke my nose. So gotta be careful with who you choose to spend your time with. They may say they have your best interests but they don’t. Find someone who actually deserves you. "

"You're into guys?" Brett asked, ignoring the rest of what he said. "I mean, I had some suspicions, but…"

" I like both so yeah guys are pretty cool too. It’s more about the emotional connection rather than the gender for me," Eddy nodded in confirmation to Brett's question," Well I mean if you saw me on the footage it's kinda obvious I have some experience. "

He teased lightly.

"Yeah, I thought maybe so, but it could just have been that your girlfriend is kinky," Brett chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "But yeah, I figured."

" Well you wouldn't be wrong in that thought either ," Eddy giggled quietly then cleared his throat," Does that disgust you....?"

He asked, he was pretty sure it didn't but he probably should make sure, if his plan was going to work.

Brett got a bright red colour over his cheeks.

"No," he mumbled, licking his lips nervously. "I'm also into guys as well."

" That's a relief," Eddy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, he wouldn't know what to do if Brett actually found him disgusting.

"Why does it matter to you what I think of you?" Brett asked, not really understanding why an assassin would care about his victim.

" Why shouldn't I? I am spending time with you for the time being." Eddy starred not knowing how to explain it himself except for being a sensitive creature.

"Well, for starters, you tried to kill me," Brett pointed out with a small smile as if explaining something obvious. "And I'm your captor, keeping you from going home to your girlfriend. I'm sure you'd much rather spend time with her."

" Maybe I'm getting Stockholm syndrome," Eddy snickered, tilting his head back into the pillows as a way to hide how he was actually thinking on what Brett said. It was lonely so he didn't mind the company even if from his captor.

"Doubt it, but cute you'd say it," Brett shrugged, looking down at his own hands for a moment. Why did he feel so sad and angry suddenly now? Was his heartache finally catching up with him?

" Believe it or not I actually like your company." Eddy spared a glance before looking away again with a yawn.

"That's nice, I guess. I'll come by more often if you want," Brett offered, looking up at him again. He certainly didn't mind spending time with him, but he knew his motivation to do so was wrong. The only reason he should want to spend time with Eddy was to interrogate him.

" I'd like that, thank you," Eddy let his eyes fall closed for a few seconds but opened them again soon enough not wanting to risk falling asleep.

The butterflies in Brett's stomach made his feelings betray him as he couldn't hold back a smile from Eddy's words.

"I should probably go prepare our dinner, though," Brett mumbled, placing a hand in front of his mouth in a silly attempt to hide his smile and his blush. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting kinda hungry."

Eddy looked up at Brett sleepily with a crooked little smile spread across his face, whilst watching the older male, " Okay, I'll see you then." 

He wouldn't try to make Brett stay, he knew he was a busy man.

"I'll come get you for dinner, okay?" Brett said, standing up slowly. He didn't really want to leave, but he was actually getting really hungry.

" yeah," Eddy decided to burrow himself under the blankets since Brett was leaving now, " thank you again, Bretty."

The nickname bounced through his head, activating all kinds of good feelings in Brett. He bit his tongue hard to keep himself from grinning like an idiot. It certainly didn't help that Eddy looked like he had let his guard down around him, allowing himself to be exposed like this. He knew Eddy never really let his guard down, though.

"Of course, I did say I like my guests comfortable, didn't I?" Brett said as he walked through the room, placing his hand on the door handle. "I'll be back soon."


	17. Nap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He whimpered. Sleep wasn't the only thing that was filling him, but anxiety as well. Fear of the unknown, fear of his mind, longing for reassurance. Everything swarmed in his head. Carefully he pulled the shirt to his nose, trying to let the smell reassure him once again until the darkness took him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short little chapter written by me

With Brett gone, sleep began to lull at him. He was exhausted from his lack of sleep, masturbation session and from socializing. Despite socializing being exhausting, Eddy missed Brett's presence, especially with sleep around the corner ready to jump him.

He whimpered. Sleep wasn't the only thing that was filling him, but anxiety as well. Fear of the unknown, fear of his mind, longing for reassurance. Everything swarmed in his head. Carefully he pulled the shirt to his nose, trying to let the smell reassure him once again until the darkness took him.

________

Ray took his post outside the guest room doors, to make sure the prisoner wouldn't try to escape once again.

He had to make sure not to be tricked by any of the assassin's petty tricks like Inu had. If he wanted to keep his job, he couldn't be fooled or outwitted. 

Ray took a deep breath, causing his muscles to relax.

The man jumped from an inhuman shriek that filled his ears.

" what the–" Ray cut himself off realizing it came from the bedroom he was guarding. What was going on? What was the thrashing noise? Was the prisoner in trouble? The latter would be impossible no one could get in or out of the room without someone knowing.

Slowly he knocked on the cherry wood," Hey are you okay?"

No answer, so his second knock was louder along with the use of his voice," Are you okay in there!" 

This time he got something a loud whimper in reply, which really wasn't an answer. Maybe something was actually wrong?

Ray stood still listening, not sure what to do besides pressing his ear to the door out of concern and curiosity. Between whimpers, screams and sobs the assassin was muttering things. Things that Ray couldn't completely make out. He could pick up on a few words here and there, such as: 

_ "Stop!" _

_ "No!" _

_ "Sorry!" _

_ "Please!" _

_ " I didn't mean to!" _

Eddy seemed to keep repeating those words as if a chorus. Then it broke off into another, which was more of a loud sob that ripped through his chest.

Ray was certain that their captive was either having a nightmare or hallucinating something.

Both seemed probable at the time. Lack of sleep could cause hallucinations and obviously it could force the body into sleep.

Now Ray was left to decide what to do with these two theories in mind," Damn it"

He groaned to himself, burying his face into his hands. He shouldn't be feeling sympathetic towards this cold blooded killer, except he was.

With every sob his heart throbbed. It broke to pieces at the pitiful sounds, they were so small and vulnerable compared to the man they belonged to.

This was getting painful to hear, more so than was actually comfortable for Ray to handle. Then it all fell silent, no more screaming, sobbing or thrashing.

" Maybe I should get Brett," The Guard bit his lip nervously, not sure if he would be allowed to deal with it since the boss had been adamant with taking care of everything when it came to his special captive.

Speaking of the devil Brett could be seen coming down the hall right as Ray had his hand on the door.


	18. Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hmmm, that's a good question, what do I want." Eddy tapped out a piece on Brett's chest as he thought what he wanted, " I want you," he paused then grinned even wider,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter ahead

Ray froze seeing his boss approaching. His hand flinched away from the door knob it was originally reaching out for. He quickly tried to straighten up as a guard should when on post.

Brett was mostly in his own thoughts, having dropped off the pizza box in his room before going to fetch Eddy. He noticed the newest addition to his guard force outside, seeing how he straightened up as he moved closer.

"Everything alright, buddy?" he asked, stopping outside Eddy's room. He considered if he should tell him to get off post before bringing Eddy out, but it could be useful to have someone nearby if Eddy decided to act up.

Brett was mostly in his own thoughts, having dropped off the pizza box in his room before going to fetch Eddy. He noticed the newest addition to his guard force outside, seeing how he straightened up as he moved closer.

"Everything alright, buddy?" he asked, stopping outside Eddy's room. He considered if he should tell him to get off post before bringing Eddy out, but it could be useful to have someone nearby if Eddy decided to act up.

Ray cleared his throat awkwardly, out of respect he didn't make direct eye contact with his boss ,since it was of disrespect to look at someone directly of higher rank, " I just thought I heard the prisoner crying, sir. It could be another one of his tricks so be careful. " He spoke matter of fact to hide his soft heart.

Brett furrowed his eyebrows, feeling the worry and the hint of guilt in the bottom of his stomach. He didn't like when Eddy was sad. 

"Is that so?" Brett asked, running a hand through his hair and looking over at the door quickly. "Thank you, Ray, for letting me know. I'll deal with it."

"No problem sir" Ray nodded, shifting away from the door to lean against the wall. He planned to stay nearby encase Brett needed him, although he was pretty sure that this wasn't a trick.

Brett took a deep breath before unlocking the door and peeking inside, making sure he wasn't actually being tricked before going in. Could never be too sure, no matter how soft he seemed, Eddy was a trained assassin.

Eddy sat in the center of the bed, hugging his legs close to his chest, also burying his face in them. His breath was ridged. There was a slim chance of him lashing out by being startled.

"Eddy?" Brett asked softly, closing the door behind him so Ray wouldn't hear their conversation. It hurt to see him like this. "You alright?"

Eddy looked up slightly since his name was called, but didn't trust his voice to give a solid answer so he shook his head no.

Brett felt the need to give him a tight hug, but instead went over to sit on the edge of his bed.

"Want to talk about it over dinner? Thought you could get a change of scenery by eating with me in my room."

Eddy quickly wiped his eyes, not wanting to look like a blubbering idiot over seemingly nothing, so once again he shook his head no not wanting to talk about it.

Part of him wanted human touch, Alex had spoiled him a lot with it especially after nightmares.

"I want to help you, so if there's anything else I can do, just let me know and I'll see what I can do, okay?" Brett said, reaching over to him to rub his back gently. He was hesitant, half expecting Eddy to lash out at the touch.

Eddy leaned into the touch, tempted to nuzzle into Brett's side but he knew that would be inappropriate considering," ... can I h-hold your h-hand..." he stammered quietly, " j-just f-for a b bit?"

His words were tumbling out, without much control.

"I uh... Yeah? Sure?" Brett stuttered, hesitantly offering the hand that wasn't resting on Eddy's back. He licked his lips nervously, not sure what to make of the request. What did it mean?

Eddy took Brett's smaller hand into his own, completely covering it. He just simply cradled it as if precious but didn't intertwine their fingers because that would be too intimate. He squeezed it slightly, his sniffling beginning to calm down.

Brett kept his eyes on their hands, enjoying the tickle of Eddy's careful touch. The tickles moved to his stomach too, feeling like a thousand butterflies. He did manage to keep his deadpan face, but his cheeks got stained pink.

Eddy brought Brett's hand closer to him so he could examine it. Simple things like that kept his mind content. With his free hand he traced along Brett's knuckles softly memorizing the details, then he occasionally spred the elders fingers apart or curled them. He seemed pretty focused on doing that until he was completely calm.

"You feeling better?" Brett asked quietly, despite not really wanting this moment to end ever. "I think the dinner is getting cold."

"Yeah I am... Sorry about that," Eddy gave him a shy awkward smile, he almost seemed sad to depart with Brett's hand as he let go.

"Don't worry about it, it was... Kind of nice," Brett mumbled, running a hand through his hair. "I thought we'd eat in my room, by the way, if you don't mind."

Eddy nodded in agreement, he thought it was nice too, after all it did soothe him, " I don't mind at all."

"Cool, let's go then," Brett said, pushing himself off Eddy's bed. He probably should have cuffed Eddy on the way there, but he decided to trust him instead. Ray was just outside anyway, one of the few guys he knew would take action if needed even if he wasn't ordered to.

Eddy slowly stood up, looking around curiously waiting to be cuffed, blindfolded, escorted by a guard or something. He soon realized Brett would be doing the escorting without any assistance so he shuffled to the shorter male.

"Ray's outside, so don't do anything funny please," Brett mumbled before opening the door and giving Ray a nod before leading the way for Eddy towards his room.

Eddy shuffled behind Brett quietly. He looked around the hall trying to take in the details, " Your house is big, how do you get around without a map?"

"Well, it's my house," Brett chuckled, opening the door to his bedroom to let Eddy enter first. He had of course moved his weapons to his office before letting Eddy in there. A pizza box sat on a small table by his window and with two bean bag type chairs on each side.

Eddy stepped in slowly, he quirked an eyebrow at the bean bag like chairs not exactly expecting a crime boss to have something seen as more childish. He looked around the room curiously, he wanted to explore.

"There's no weapons in here, if that's what you're looking for," Brett said as he closed the door behind them. "But feel free to look around if you want, I guess."

" I'm not, maybe I just want to rummage through your clothes or roll on your bed," Eddy stuck his tongue out giggling.

Brett raised an eyebrow, giving a little shrug of indifference. He promptly ignored the butterflies tickling his stomach at the sight of his childishness. "I mean, feel free, I guess? The pizza is getting cold, though."

Eddy glanced towards the pizza it was tempting, " Well it tastes good cold too" 

Food wins every time, he trotted over to it..

Brett went and sat on one of his chairs and opened the pizza box.

"True, but I prefer at least lukewarm pizza," Brett chuckled, grabbing a slice. He had ordered with extra cheese like he always did.

Eddy flopped back into one of the chairs letting himself sink into it, " I see your pizza choices haven't changed since forever." He grabbed a slice with a hum.

"I'm pretty much still me, just with a bigger house, you know," Brett pointed out before biting into his slice. Thankfully, the temperature of it hadn't dropped too much. "Still like pretty much the same things I did when we were kids."

"You feel like you've changed a lot?" Brett asked, still chewing on his pizza. The room was slightly dim, and it was possible to see the relatively well kept garden outside. It was obvious he wasn't handling it himself.

"I feel more empty and haunted than I was. Younger me didn't have to worry about stuff, but now I have to worry to survive. " Eddy stared out the window for a good while, his mind thinking on many things, too many.

"You're safe while you're here, though," Brett said after swallowing his bite. "I'm not letting anything happen to you."

" You say that now but eventually you'll have to dispose of me" Eddy hummed nonchalantly. It was just how life went/

"I don't know. I could keep you as a pet, no?" Brett said with a joking tone and taking another bite of his pizza. "Take you for walks, getting you toys..."

"I didn't know you were into pet play Bretty," Eddy purred jokingly, taking every chance he got to tease the elder, " Will one of the toys be a plug with a tail."

He snickered despite the blush he had.

Brett almost choked on a piece of crust from his pizza, coughing to dislodge it.

"That's... That's not what I meant..." he said between coughs, his cheeks feeling like they caught on fire. Especially when his brain came up with an image of Eddy in a collar.

" Well you said I'd be your pet and you'd get me toys, don't disappoint me now" Eddy giggled looking over at Brett. He wasn’t completely shameless; the conversation made him feel shy.

"What would your girlfriend say about that?" Brett asked, laughing nervously after. He put his pizza slice down on the box, running a hand through his hair.

"Probably joke with me then make me eat my words by indulging in it" Eddy smiled at Brett simply giggling some more.

Brett licked his lips, running a hand through his hair again. He didn't really know if he was joking or not anymore, and it made him nervous.

Eddy goes back to finishing his slice since the room fell silent, he took it as a sign not to continue the conversation.

"Do you miss her a lot?" Brett asked after a while, reaching for his slice again. He had asked this before, but it didn't really seem like it to him with all this... He didn't dare to call it flirting, but that's what it seemed like. "I mean, of course you do, but..."

" Since you know the answer I will say that I feel lonely in many ways, mentally, physically, socially and so on," Eddy finished his slice then awkwardly rubbed his arm.

The word "physically" repeated through Brett's head a few times extra. He tried not to entertain that thought.

"I'm sorry. I don't know how I can fix any of that for you in these circumstances, honestly," Brett sighed, looking down at his pizza slice. "I'll try and think of something."

" I know one way but that's not going to happen unless you're dead, I escape or it's my funeral because we both know that I know too much to simply be let go, " Eddy pursed his lips slightly," But let's not talk about that. I already cried enough for one night. "

Brett sighed, running a hand through his hair for what felt like the millionth time that evening, trying to think about something he could do.

"How about a phone call?" he finally suggested, looking up at Eddy. "A quick call to your girlfriend?"

Eddy immediately perked up with what seemed like sparkles in his eyes, " Really?! You'd let me?" He looked like he was on the verge of tears again but this time from happiness. He might even tackle Brett with a hug from how happy the suggestion made him.

"I... Yeah?" Brett said, smiling a bit from how happy Eddy got despite it triggering a hint of jealousy that it was because he got to call his girlfriend. "If that'll make you feel better, then we'll figure out a way to get you a quick call."

"Thank you!" Eddy said happily, against his better judgement he jumped over to hug Brett

Brett had a short moment where he decided if Eddy was attacking or just being excited. He had gotten as far as placing his hands on Eddy's hips to push him away from him when his brain decided it was just a hug. Instead of throwing him away, he pulled him closer. "You're welcome, Eddy. We'll fix that for you in the morning, okay? It's getting late."

Eddy loosely wrapped an arm around Brett's shoulder as the other found its random placement just hugging the elder tightly, " That sounds amazing.... But yeah I'll enjoy dinner with you for now." He bowed his head to rest his forehead against Brett's shoulder.

"Well, dinner with me is going to seem a bit bleak compared to that, I guess," Brett mumbled, chuckling nervously after. His heart rate was increasing more as he realized that Eddy was practically sitting on his lap at this point. He loosened his grip on his hips so he could move away if he wanted to.

"You're enjoyable too, don't sell yourself short" Eddy shifted slightly thinking he probably should get up but he wasn't willing yet, this is the most physical interaction he's gotten. He missed touch maybe a bit too desperately but it played well with his seduction plan.

"I wouldn't know if I'm enjoyable, I don't really hang out with people a lot," Brett shrugged, trying to remember the last time he hung out with someone that wasn't business related. The only he could think of was the girl he slept with after a visit to the bar after a tough job in Japan. He didn't really feel lonely, though. At least he hadn't until Eddy showed up. "I guess that, too, comes with the job."

" Not many friends then? Sorry," Eddy whispered against Brett's shoulder softly then thought with a hum, " Guess we have that in common then, our jobs come first... At least mostly." He started to uncurl himself from Brett in case the elder was getting uncomfortable under his weight.

"It's alright, can't trust people anyway," Brett said, feeling Eddy move slightly away. He assumed it was because Eddy finally had realized how close they were and how inappropriate it was seeing as he had a girlfriend. "I wouldn't be where I am if I didn't put the job first, really. It's nice, though, to have someone to talk to. I'll admit that."

"You have me for the time being, so what would you want to talk about?" Eddy ran his own hand through Brett's hair like he was tempted to then ruffled it before standing up.

Brett blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what had just happened. His cheeks were still on fire. "I uh..." he began, trying to force his brain to work. "I don't know, really. There's not much happening in my life, I guess. Maybe you have some fun stories?"

Eddy moved over to his own chair, flopping back into it, " Well I have a lot of stories... If you ask questions I will tell I guess or think of a story to go with it. "

Brett nodded slightly, not really having much to say;however, one thing came to mind,” Um...Why did you bring such a big gun to kill me?”

"Well I originally planned on sniping you from a long distance so I wouldn't have to get personal but plans had to be changed because they told me to get some special file or whatnot which meant I had to go inside to get them. You weren't the complete target I suppose, more or less the distraction. So in short I like sniping and that's why I brought the big gun," Eddy thought about it then grinned with a laugh, " However, I was also a bit morbidly curious if someone's head would basically explode from all that force from a sniping gun close range. "

"Well, we already know you would have failed if you tried to snipe me. Bulletproof glass in my office window," Brett said with a smile as he threw the last bite of his slice in his mouth.

"Special bullets sweetheart everything breaks at a certain pressure, density and power. It would depend on trajectory and momentum. Nothing is foolproof, " Eddy smirked glancing at Brett," Plus I studied your building a bit to find weak spots. Too bad the house wasn't a part of it, I would have run away if that were the case. The organization doesn't know where you live, you know? A lot of other people they know but you, you elude them, I was always kinda happy about that.`` He was pretty sure they put him on this case as a form of smite.

"They must either be idiots or not have attempted to figure it out, then, I'm not exactly hiding," Brett laughed with a shrug. "Nah, I guess any millionaire could be living here for all they know."

"Or maybe you weren't a concern until recently. They don't pry themselves in anything unless they see it as a threat or a cruel way to punish someone, " Eddy cracked his knuckles glancing to Brett," So Brett Yang would you call yourself a threat? Or as it seems the knowledge you have? "

"I'm just a guy with a large network. My bet is they're after me to control larger parts of the drug and firearm trade," Brett said, pulling one leg into the chair he was sitting in. "A potential threat if I decide to be, I suppose."

"I think they want you out of the picture because of your beautiful mind, the intellectuals often rule the market, " Eddy shrugged," But that's just my opinion. "

Brett got a hint of red over his cheeks. He certainly wasn't used to compliments, especially not like that. "So you don't actually know why you were supposed to kill me?"

"Like I said you were more of a distraction to get the files. Your guards would try to save you even if fatally wounded, " Eddy sighed," But other than that no I don't know, it's just my job. I didn't want to take the task but I had no choice, they'd just send someone in my place anyways." He licked his lips wearily," Kinda glad it was me though because you're still alive. "

"It's strange to hear my assassin say he's glad I'm alive," Brett said with a small smile. "I'm glad Victor didn't kill you with that bullet, honestly."

"This Victor doesn't seem to be the greatest of shots so it would be a bit depressing if he was the one to kill me" Eddy lightly grazed the wound with his fingers.

"Does it hurt still?" Brett asked, sounding almost worried. He followed Eddy's fingers with his eyes. "I could get Ray to find you more pain meds?"

"Yes it does and I'll pass on the pain meds as I did last time. It's fine," Eddy wearily smiled, after the last few times of being drugged he didn't particularly trust any pill they'd give him.

"Alright, just let me know, though. I want you to be comfortable, as you know," Brett sighed, grabbing another cold slice of pizza.

"As you keep saying. I'll let you know if I change my mind," Eddy side glanced at Brett trying to think of something else to say to him other than simple talk.

Silence fell as Brett took a bite of his slice, chewing slowly. He had always preferred warm pizza. His mind wandered to how he'd set up the call the following morning, which phone to use and so on. He hadn't really thought this through before offering.

Eddy went back to staring out the window, the garden was really beautiful he thought. He'd like to have some fresh air, maybe that could be a conversational piece. Although part of him wondered if it would cost something, how much did Brett's kindness cost? The man had no need for money but it could always be in the form of favors, " Maybe you could take me on a walk through your garden, it's gorgeous. If you don't trust me not to run you could put me on a leash or something. "

Brett looked out the window, furrowing his brows. "I'll have to figure out how to make that safer first, but I'll see what I can do," Brett answered with a small smile. "I've had some shots fired in the garden before."

"Would you want anything in return since it sounds like you're going out of your way?" Eddy tilted his head to the side, a curious look stained on his face. Brett was doing a lot of things that seemed unnatural for a prisoner, " Is the garden your execution place? Have you ever executed someone yourself or is the messy stuff for someone else? "

"I uh... Nah, just... Company is nice," Brett mumbled as an answer to the first question, running a hand through his hair. "To answer everything else, I try to keep the messy jobs at the office. Sometimes people don't respond to me trying to convince them into talking, and sometimes they die because of that, but in general I avoid having people killed unless necessary. What I meant was that there've been attempts on my life in the garden, so I don't really go out there anymore. "

"Well I mean I like your company and all too but I kinda feel like I just sit around not really doing anything, so if you ever want anything besides me chatting the offer will still stand, " Eddy shrugged, he thought even cleaning would be a good way to make himself useful, " I'd protect you in your garden if you're really scared of someone shooting at your head. I wouldn't want anyone taking the honor of defeating the great Brett Yang away from me now would I? " Eddy lightly nudged Brett's shoulder as he joked.

A smile tugged on Brett's lips at the last comment and took another bite of his pizza to calm himself. Even if it didn't feel like it, he was on the job. It felt even less like he was on the job when Eddy nudged him. 

"I think I'll have some more guys at work anyway, just to be sure. Give me a few days to get things fixed, alright?" Brett said with a smile, adopting Eddy's playful tone before continuing. "But I'll take that as a reminder to not let my guard down around you, if you intend to defeat me one day."

Eddy's playful smile faded into a more serious look as he brushed the back of his knuckles down the length of the shorter's neck, he definitely could kill Brett right here if he wanted, but he probably wouldn't be getting a call or a way out if he did that, " Yep, you're mine no one else is allowed to kill you." As soon as he said it his hand was gone and he was giggling once again.

Brett let out a shaky breath, not sure if it was because he was scared he'd die there and then or if it was lust. He swallowed hard, attempting, and failing, to gather himself again.

"Maybe I should keep you cuffed for my own safety," Brett half whispered, not trusting his voice completely.

" If you cuffed my hands behind my back and muzzled and/or gagged me so I couldn't use my teeth, you'd be pretty safe but not to be weird I could definitely still crush your head like a watermelon between my thighs. Like have you seen them?" Eddy sounded like he was ready to roll in laughter," Although I don't know why you'd be close enough for me to do that."

"You must be confusing me with your girlfriend," Brett said, much flatter than he intended. It was meant as a joke, but it sounded rather bitter. "And you keep forgetting I'm not completely useless when it comes to fighting back."

"Someone sounds butthurt that my thighs are hotter than yours and if you kindly remember in what you saw it wasn't my girlfriend's name I was calling," Eddy stuck out his tongue to keep the lively atmosphere, " I know you aren't useless after all you pinned me but I also know that I could win if I tried hard enough. I like the challenge. "

"If you think I'm sucking your dick, you're wrong," Brett tried to joke back, but his nervous laugh and red cheeks revealed it wasn't completely out of the question. "And I'm glad you think that highly of your fighting ability. It makes it more fun if I have to stop you again."

" Sucking dick isn't the only thing you could do between someone’s legs. There's also eating someone out, but that's more hygienically questionable and definitely should be very clean for such things. Also I don't think you'd be that good at either since you're pent up in the job most of the time as for me...." He trailed off deciding that if he told his experience with sucking it probably would expose Alex for who he was, since it wouldn't really add up logically, " Come on let's spar and we'll see who lands on top. If I am purely focused and not distracted I will surely win. You're good Brett but you're also an old man, I got youth on my side, " Eddy smiles widely.

"Youth, my ass, you're only one year younger," Brett snorted with an eye roll. He had to consciously ignore Eddy's teasing. "And I do not want to fight you over nothing."

"You're just scared of me old man, you're going to be thirty and I will still be in my glorious twenties" Eddy flipped his hair," It would be sparring for fun not just a fight there would be rules. Like wrestling. "

"And how do I know you're not going to make an attempt on my life, huh?" Brett asked, raising an eyebrow. "I can't trust a runaway to follow the rules, you know."

" It so happens that I am fond of you also I may seem stupid but I am not entirely stupid. I would gain nothing by killing you now. I don't know where I am, I don't know how to get out and I don't know how to dispose of all your guards; unless I want to fight them all with a pencil or something, " Eddy rolled his eyes standing up to stretch.

Brett gave it some thought. "Let's establish the rules first, then. No permanent damage, obviously, and please try and avoid any hospital visits?" he suggested, raising an eyebrow at him.

"So we'll go for submissions, that's pretty basic and it will end if one of us taps out. Simple taps can be hitting the floor with your hand or foot to say you're done or you tap your partner. 

Sparring partners don't tend to try to murder the one they're working with, " Eddy also knew it required trusting said partner with ones body.

"Sounds alright," Brett agreed with a shrug. He honestly hadn't done much sparring as most of his training had been on the job. "Let's also try and avoid breaking anything, please. It's such a hassle to replace stuff."

"Let's clear a little place then. Do you have any mats we can lay down or... " Eddy glanced around the room.

"Had it not been for the potential weaponry there, I'd bring you to the exercise room," Brett muttered, but a smile was pulling the corner of his mouth up. "But I'm afraid I don't have much here, no. I usually don't play around on the floor much."

" Are you insinuating I do," Eddy quirked an eyebrow with a smirk," I am the master of the floor, just try to defeat me in my domain! " 

He decided to proclaim laughing instead of making an innuendo.

Brett finally stood up and moved both the chairs and the table with the pizza box closer to the window.

"Alright, boy, let's play then," he chuckled as you would as an old to a little kid, taking off his blazer and hanging it over the chair. "Every domain is my domain, except possibly sniping, but I think I'd be acceptable at that too."

Eddy beamed slightly when Brett finally stood up. He had to admit that the man looked good so seriously taking his blazer off to prepare for a fight. He liked the dominant aura it gave, dominance was something he liked to challenge and it was a reward in itself even if he might not win, " Will you play gently with me then or nah because I keep calling you old. On a different note I could teach you how to snipe sometime since it seems I'll be here for awhile. "

"Could be nice, if you'd teach sniping," Brett admitted, giving a little nod. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. "And yeah, nah, either we're playing properly or we're not playing."

"If you find the time, I will teach you," Eddy watched the motion of Brett rolling up his sleeves, who knew such a simple motion could be so attractive. He hummed lowly, tilting his head back, " I can't say that I mind the idea of you playing with me rough. Should we have a losers punishment or is losing punishment enough, same question towards winners rewards. "

"What kind of consequences are you thinking?" Brett asked, straightening his glasses. He hoped he'd be able to keep them in one piece through this. He has more pairs, of course, but he liked these.

" Winners choice? So whatever you want if you win, within reason." Eddy tapped his chin slightly in thought thinking it seemed like a good way to avoid making a set punishment.

"Alright, sounds good to me," Brett shrugged, not really sure what he'd ask of Eddy if he did win. He knew what he wanted, of course, but it definitely wasn't within reason. Or... Was it?

"Within reason."

"We can discuss the terms of it when it gets to the place since agreeing parties and such so neither end up in humiliation or something." Eddy nodded more to himself since he wouldn't want to force Brett into anything when and if he wins, "So lets start then"

He held his hand out since it was good sportsmanship to bump hands before starting a sparring match.

"Right, yeah," Brett mumbled, pushing his bangs out of his face before bumping hands with Eddy.

Eddy smiled at him quickly pulling his hand back to himself, quickly getting into a lower kneeling stance as if ready to pounce. His hands were in an open posture, one up to guard his face the other low, near his groin, " I'll use open hand attacks instead of my fists just to be nice."

He grinned wolfishly.

Using open hand attacks wasn’t nice, a fist was often a very blunt force whereas open hand could cause damage in multiple unexpected ways. It typically hurt more as well if the correct amount of energy was put behind it.

As for Brett his stance was more rigid and upright, much like a boxer: Head tilted down, fists up to guard his face and in a modified front stance. He sank down a bit lower to be on the same playing field as his opponent,” So I take it that submissions mean I can’t just straight up punch you?”

_____________

Eddy stared down at Brett from where he perched on the elder's hips, typically his mount would be high and on the person's chest so they couldn't buck him off and so he could pin the person's arms but he wanted to see if Brett would catch his bad positioning.

He was panting with a grin, all his hair going into his face as he stared, " I win grandpa."

His hands lightly rested on the man's chest in a gentle manner. He had the urge to caress Brett's cheek.

Brett looked up at Eddy straddling him, making a half assed effort to wiggle him off. He did realize he could just toss him off with a wiggle and a push, and the temptation to keep his pride was definitely present, but he felt paralyzed from Eddy's hands on his chest and his ass pressing down on him where it teased him the most.

"Alright, Eddy, you win this time," he breathed, cheeks burning from where his thoughts were going.

Eddy smiled triumphantly as he straightened himself up more happily. He was just sitting on Brett by this point, shifting occasionally when Brett wiggled.

" Yay! " He beamed joyfully, keeping himself perched to soak in his victory.

"Alright, alright, what do you want for your winning then?" Brett asked with a lazy smile, looking up at him as he was still catching his breath. He was pulling out all the cards he had to keep his body from reacting to the too suggestive position they were in, including mental images of the last person he had the pleasure of murdering after his brains were mostly in the wall behind him. It didn't work.

"Hmmm, that's a good question, what do I want." Eddy tapped out a piece on Brett's chest as he thought what he wanted, " I want you," he paused then grinned even wider, " to be my cuddle buddy!"

Brett's heart almost stopped at the "you", and when Eddy completed the sentence he was almost disappointed. There wasn't much he'd rather have than Eddy right now.

"C... Cuddle buddy?" he asked, cheeks burning when his brain finally had processed what he had in fact asked for. He thought he must be messing with him. "That's all?"

" Is being cuddle buddies out of reason when it's with your prisoner?" Eddy tilted his head to the side like he tended to when thinking or teasing, " should I ask for something more than having you cuddle with me so I don't die from touch starvation? " He poked Brett's nose whilst asking.

Brett blinked a few times from the touch, feeling almost lightheaded. Why was Eddy asking for this? Wouldn't his girlfriend be mad?

"No, no, it's... If that's what you want, then sure," Brett mumbled softly, looking up at him. "I just didn't expect you to want that."

" Well if you want some small honesty of why, it's because things like that helps with my anxiety and makes it calm down, which means I'm crazy enough to think you're safe for cuddles and are calming to my senses, " Eddy could also get into how it helps stop his nightmares but he wasn't about to get that personal with it, " I like cuddles, cuddles are nice and safe feeling." He concluded.

"Okay, we'll do that if you want. I don't mind," Brett said, wiggling slightly. He didn't really want Eddy to let him go, but the hard floor was beginning to hurt his back. Besides, he was sure he wouldn't be able to keep his body in check like this much longer. "Do you mind...?"

"Oops sorry, forgot you'd need to get up sometime," Eddy quickly stood up then offered his hand out so he could help Brett up if needed.

"Maybe I went easy on you, you never know," Brett said with an innocent smile. "We'll see."

Eddy didn't know what else to do, maybe sit back down and talk or collect in on his cuddles, " if you were I wouldn't be surprised since it seems you've been doing a lot of other things out of your way for me. "

"I like to keep my guests happy," Brett repeated, knowing full well he only did this for Eddy.

Eddy nodded slightly not completely buying it but decided it was best not to say anything about it, " Want to cuddle and talk or just talk for a bit longer until you dispose me to my lonesome?"

"The cuddling is up to you, I guess," Brett shrugged, running his hand through his hair. "But talking sounds alright, at least for a bit."

"What kind of cuddling are you comfortable with then? I don't want to make you too uncomfortable, " Eddy said they'd discuss things and make certain boundaries so he was ready to hear what Brett's were, " yep talking is good."

"Whatever you want," Brett answered before he had time to think. "As long as you're not cuddling me to death."

Eddy couldn't help but chuckle at Brett's reply, his kind of cuddling could go from innocent to not so much, to say whatever he wants could be a very broad and dangerous thing, " How could I even cuddle you to death? Smother you with my chest or are you calling me fat? " 

He giggled, deciding he'll go with something more innocent. Now with being able to call Alex in the morning, he was planning on getting an okay from his boyfriend; before falling through with his plan.

"Don't know what kind of weird cuddling you're into," Brett said light-heartedly, sitting down on his bed and getting his shoes off.

"But it seems that you've assumed we're doing it on the bed so maybe you do," Eddy smirked with another chuckle escaping his lips.

"We can do it elsewhere, if you want?" Brett asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He looked around demonstratively to show there was nowhere else in the room to do it. "Like the floor? In one of the chairs? I'm sure you'll fit on my lap."

“I kinda fit in your lap when I hugged you, plus not all cuddles require the full body. You could sit in a chair and I could sit on the floor nuzzling against your leg you know? But the bed is good enough. " Eddy trotted over to Brett, still with a smile on his face. He hadn't really put his boots back on to walk out of the 'guest room' so he had nothing to take off.

"Alright, come here then," Brett mumbled, scooting onto the bed so he'd rest his back against the headboard. He tried his best to make it seem like this was no big deal to him, but his heart rate was through the roof.

Eddy climbed onto the bed as soon as he was invited to, now it was time for him to decide how he'd approach this. He crawled over to the elder deciding to simply sit by him and nuzzle into his arm. It was safe. Brett let him do whatever he wanted, not sure what was okay to do. His cheeks seemed to get a permanent pink colour, though.

Eddy cradled Brett's arm with his own like he had the boy's hand earlier in the night, he seemed content to just hold it and nuzzle into the side of Brett's shoulder, " is this okay?" He was sure it was the innocent way of going about it.

"Y... Yeah," Brett exhaled shakily, licking his lips. He could feel Eddy's heat through his arm, feeling like it warmed his whole body. "As I said, whatever you want."

" What a dangerous thing to say, whatever I want," Eddy looked at him with a devilish grin before he bowed his head again to continue his snuggling.


	19. Late Night Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I would love to stay with you... But I can't right now. I'd keep you up and it would look suspicious to your guards. I don't want you to tarnish your reputation because of me, " Eddy also didn't want to step over any boundaries. Being invited to sleep in the same bed was hardly innocent at this age and he still wanted permission.
> 
> "You're right, you're right," Brett mumbled, scooting himself to the edge of the bed. "Let me follow you back to your room, though. I need to give some instructions anyway."
> 
> Eddy slipped out of the bed slowly, letting his bare feet hit the floor, " Okay if you insist." 
> 
> He gave a lopsided grin.

"Yeah? Why is that dangerous?" Brett chuckled, just enjoying the warm feeling. He wasn't used to feeling things this strongly.

"It's a pretty broad statement. It could be whatever I wanted when it comes to cuddles, which could be a lot of things" Eddy giggled.

"It seems you're pretty innocent as of now, so I'm not too worried," Brett chuckled, looking down at Eddy. He considered running his hand through Eddy's soft hair, but hesitated. He didn't want to overstep and freak him out.

"I'll let you think I'm innocent in cuddles for now, it's better that way," Eddy let his eyes fall closed in relaxation, everything smelled like Brett, it was warm and peaceful.

"Right," Brett chuckled, finally somewhat giving in to his need to touch Eddy's hair by brushing it out of his face. "I wonder where your line for cuddles goes if it can be anything that's not innocent."

"Hmmm guess you'd have to find out" Eddy lifted his head slightly to get more hair pets, he liked it.  Brett noticed how Eddy leaned into the touch and moved to comb his fingers through his hair instead, taking mental note of how soft it was. He wanted to pretend this was more than just Eddy's need for physical contact.  If Eddy could purr like a cat he'd probably be at this very moment. He kept his eyes closed relaxing even further. " You sleepy?" Brett asked, brushing through his hair again. He wasn't sure if he should let him sleep there or not. If this all was a trick, he'd be done for. 

"A bit but I had a nap before I came so not completely, I'm just comfy. You're warm and relaxing, " Eddy murmured quietly, opening his eyes to look.

"Hope it's not a lot worse than your girlfriend," Brett chuckled, pushing some of Eddy's bangs behind his ear. He wanted to kiss his forehead, but figured that was way over the line. Stupid brain coming up with stupid ideas.  If Eddy squint hard enough Brett could kinda look like Alex, felt like him too but softer. They of course smelled completely different, Alex always had a metallic blood smell to him but Brett smelled almost floral with a pinch of spiced to him, "Don't think about that right now, it's perfect just being you."

"Hard not to, if I'm honest," Brett shrugged, looking down at him again. "I feel bad you have to make do with me instead of getting to crawl into bed with her. I hope the call will make a little up for it."

" Let me clarify, I don't want to think about it now. I know that I probably won't be leaving here alive at least you won't let me leave. The what ifs and not knowing what's going to happen to me is scary. " Eddy rubbed his face against Brett's arm trying not to feel sorrowful but it hurt to think about, he wouldn't be let go because he knew too much, he also knew that he would become of little importance and be eventually killed, even if he escaped he'd most likely be killed under the assumption he snitched, which would mean punishment.

"We'll see. Don't lose hope completely just yet," Brett mumbled, trying his best not to feel bad. He just did his job. "Sorry for bringing it up."

"I'm disposable Brett, I'm pretty screwed either way," Eddy rubbed Brett's arm then squeezed," It's just our jobs, shit happens."

"What makes you think I'll let something happen to you, hm? We're buddies, aren't we? From back in the day?" Brett mumbled, resting his cheek on top of Eddy's head. "I'll figure something out, just give me some time."

"Once you get bored of me you might... You can't keep me forever can you? This is a depressing topic, let's not talk about it right now." Eddy sighed trying to keep himself relaxed feeling his anxiety spike up, " You can have all the time you want Bretty."  He felt safe with Brett resting his cheek on top of his head, at least it was comforting for the time being.

"How could I ever get bored of you?" Brett muttered under his breath, closing his eyes for a moment. Honestly, he couldn't understand how that was possible. He wanted to know all of Eddy, to learn what made his eyes sparkle with joy, which memories made him cry, how to comfort him when he was sad. The last thing was what he wanted to learn the most right now. He knew he wished for something he couldn't have, though. Eddy's heart was already taken.

"Maybe you won't like me or want me around anymore," Eddy wanted to look at Brett but he was too comfortable to ruin their position. He tried to think of something to talk about to make the mood less depressing or it could continue, " What should we talk about? I can tell you things if you have anything else you're curious about."

Brett scoffed at the suggestion. He couldn't think of any reason he wouldn't like Eddy anymore,  "How did you get pulled into the organization?" he asked to try and change the subject. This obviously upset Eddy. He didn't want that.

" Well I did finish uni and I already had some experience with criminal work so with that in mind my options were slim. I wish I became a soloist but uh I heard of this through my relationship and thought it would be cool to work together so yeah that's how it happened. " Eddy squeezed Brett's arm tighter with a whining noise thinking on it regretfully.

"So you ended up finishing uni? Damn, good for you. Do you still play?" Brett asked, sounding almost surprised. Personally, he hadn't touched his violin in forever. Work never gave him the time.

"Yeah, I finished in my free time. I thought it would be good to have. " Eddy kept his tight hold for a bit longer," I still play but it's hard to say the least,I had a really bad wrist slash hand injury so it can hurt to play after a while. It was gross my bone was sticking out. " He giggled. Brett furrowed his brows, looking down at Eddy's hands, "Which hand?" he asked softly, studying them to see if he could tell.

"It was my left," Eddy lazily lifted it for Brett to see which one, " At least I can still play."

Careful not to startle him, Brett took a gentle hold of his hand to look at it. "Gotta be careful with your hands, you need those," Brett mumbled, studying it. He ran a finger over a faint line in his hand, not sure if it was related to what had happened at all. "How did you do it?"

Eddy watched Brett examine his hand, he didn't mind feeling the gentle touches and examinations, " I was being tortured so it wasn't necessarily my doing this time. I think it will continue to get better though. Certain salts and warm water help. "

"Sounds bad," Brett mumbled, gently rubbing his hand as a kind of gentle massage. "Let me know if you need anything for it."

"It was very much so," Eddy murmured softly against Brett, observing his movements with fascination, " It should be fine, don't worry too much."

"I could have Ray look at it for you, if you want? Maybe he knows of something that can make it better?" Brett offered, turning his hand again. "I don't want you to be in pain."

"You said he was in med, right? Maybe I'll let him take a look," Eddy curled his fingers listening to them crack, " I'm used to it. It's okay, don't worry so much."

"I'll ask him sometime. Would be nice to hear you play sometime," Brett mumbled, letting his hand go carefully. "But not if it's gonna hurt you."

" I can't say it would be as good sounding as it once was if I played, " Eddy rested his now freed hand on his thigh.

"Doesn't matter, I'm sure it's still great," Brett mumbled, feeling the arm Eddy had held slowly fall asleep. He didn't mind, though moving it to hold around Eddy would be nice.

"Maybe, it might be really shaky." Eddy yawned then grinned, " Thanks for believing I'd still be good though."

"Do you mind if I uh... Move my arm a bit?" Brett asked softly, shifting slightly. "It's asleep…"

"Oh of course not," Eddy quickly let go so Brett's arm could be free from him.  Brett moved his arm and stretched it a bit to try and wake it up. He took a deep breath to make himself brave and placed it around Eddy, hoping it wasn't too much.  Eddy took this as an invitation to snuggle into Brett's side, " You're getting really into these cuddles too huh?"  He smiled liking the opportunity to get closer.

"I said I'd play properly or not at all, didn't I?" Brett chuckled, looking down at him with a small smile. He wanted to say how amazing the cuddling really felt to him, but decided against it. That would've been weird.  Eddy kicked one of his legs to rest over both of Brett's, next he looked for a good place to put his hands, " I didn't know that it applied to anything outside of the sparring match. "

"If the game is proper, the prize should be too I suppose. Let me know if it's too much, though," he mumbled, feeling his cheeks warm up again. His hand was resting carefully over Eddy's knee now instead of in his own lap. "You worry too much, you're perfectly fine. If I didn't like something I would have bitten you and if you're unsure about something just ask about it, " Eddy looked at Brett's hand slightly to figure out his own placement.

"I just don't want to overstep, seeing as this... I guess it is just a platonic thing. Don't want your girlfriend after me, you know," Brett mumbled with a lighthearted chuckle. "You said she's in the organization too, right? No way I'm messing with a jealous girl with fighting skills."

"Lucky for you we generally have an open relationship, so you may escape with your life. Might," Eddy decided not to mention it was typically open only when it was for murderous purposes plus discussed so no one would be left feeling too guilty. When used it also didn't go very far besides trickery. At least he would discuss it on the call.

"Yay lucky me," Brett chuckled, pulling Eddy slightly closer. "Try to use your words instead of your bite to let me know if I go too far, though."

"Yeah. Understanding in any relationship is important " Eddy lightly patted Brett's chest before simply resting his hand there, " I'll try."

"I think so too," Brett mumbled, followed by a yawn. It was getting late, way past Brett's usual bedtime. No need to stay up for no reason, usually.

"Listening is also another big one, but I guess it all deals with communication technically, " Eddy lightly started to tap out a piece on Brett's chest like the one he did while having the other male pinned. He fell somewhat silent just so he could listen to Brett's breath and heart beat.

"I guess it's especially important for you, having gone through so much," Brett mumbled, focusing on the light touch of Eddy's fingertips against his chest. It felt nice.

"Probably is, isolation with myself wouldn't do me much good, " Eddy closed his eyes to solely focus on the sound," You've probably been through a lot too, just used to being alone and holding your own. Then again you're the boss it must feel like it has to be that way. "

"It's not too bad, being the boss. You get used to having to deal with yourself after a while. I do miss my family sometimes, though," Brett mumbled, stroking his hand through Eddy's hair again. "I guess I've got you for a while now, though, until I figure out how to get you back to your girlfriend without you being made to rat me out."

"Sounds sad to be so used to it that it's normal... at least you're a strong individual. Yeah you have me for now, maybe you won't have to be lonely, " Eddy hummed liking the hair pets.

"It'll be lonely enough when you start despising me for keeping you here," Brett sighed, feeling the urge to kiss the top of his head. He didn't. "It's alright, I'll understand."

"I won't hate you, you're doing your job Brett. How could I hate you for standard practice? You're probably one of my best captors, " Eddy opened his eyes to look up at Brett," I've had way worse than you. Admittedly it's a bit unnerving since I keep expecting to get hit or beat but I get snuggles instead. "

"Top of the class, best captor," Brett snorted, not meeting Eddy's eyes. He had let his guard down long ago now, but it would be fine. He trusted Eddy.

"Yep you're the best, I don't know if it's a compliment but I mean it as such" Eddy stared for awhile, wanting to do some but not sure of what.

"It's getting late," Brett mumbled, followed by a yawn. He didn't really want to let this moment go, though. "But this is kinda nice."

"It's peaceful to lay here with you. Talking about everything and nothing at the same time, " Eddy yawned because Brett did, it was contagious.

"I agree," Brett mumbled, stroking Eddy's knee carefully with his thumb. "We should get some sleep, though."  Eddy nodded slightly with a sigh since he assumed Brett would be taking him back to the room, it would be lonely without the other man's warmth, " Yeah you'll need some rest from how busy you are."  As for Eddy he didn't need much rest since he wouldn't be allowed to do much.

"It's gonna be some work organizing the phone call and the garden trip," Brett mumbled quietly. "And I have an incoming shipment of ecstasy I need to get distributed to the sellers."

"A busy man indeed," Eddy basically hummed as he patted Brett slightly then reached up to the man's hair to ruffle.  Brett couldn't help but smile at the playful touch, "It's easy to make yourself busy when you're the boss, yeah," he sighed. "It's alright, I'm managing." Eddy trailed his hand from Brett's hair to Brett's cheek, gently cupping it whilst stroking his thumb across the soft skin, " Just managing isn't always a good thing, even the boss needs stress relief sometimes or a vacation. "

Brett was stunned by the unexpected touch, cheeks flaring up again. His stomach tickled with a thousand butterflies, "I uh... I'm alright..." Brett stuttered, meeting Eddy's eyes by accident and feeling the shade of red on his cheeks deepen. "I don't need... Uh…"  Eddy stroked for a bit longer until he pinched Brett's cheek, not too hard nor too gently. He smiled, finally being able to make eye contact with the other man, " if you say so but it may be something to look into."

"There's no uh... I can't take breaks without everything crumbling," Brett mumbled, still with burning cheeks. He felt so weak and he hated it.

"You should find someone that you could train to be your second in command. If you burn out or die, where's your company going? A break should be the least of your concern, " Eddy stopped pinching for the time being.

"What happens when I'm gone wouldn't bother me, would it?" Brett shrugged, running his hand through his hair. "But you're right, of course. I just haven't found anyone for it."

"It's more for legacy purposes than for your concerns I suppose," Eddy watched Brett's hand, he wasn't sure if he constantly ran it through his hair from stress or thought, maybe both, " Well I wouldn't say you have great options at the moment but you may find someone worthy. "

"Leaving Victor in charge would be worse than just letting it run on its own I think," Brett chuckled, his hand reaching up to run it through his hair again. He tended to do that when nervous. "Maybe I should just adopt some kid and raise them to run this logistical nightmare."

"He's too trigger happy," Eddy agreed with Brett's first statement. Towards the second one he bit the corner of his lip in some harrowing thought before replying, " Would you want any kid to have to deal with this logistical nightmare? They're fragile, delicate creatures that can die so fast. If someone couldn't get to you they'd go after your kid, and like that they'd disappear like dust. "  His almond eyes almost seemed sad.

"There's no way I'd let anything happen to a kid if I had one," Brett scoffed, licking his lips. "But I don't think I actually have time to take care of one."

"Everyone says that but life and death are unpredictable. You could do everything right ,but then one thing crumbles the world around you, " Eddy smiled sorrowfully at him, as he snuggled a bit more," Maybe if you found a second in command you could raise one then they'd take over when old enough or if something happened to you your second in command could take care of the kiddo. But you have time. "

"Look, I'm sorry I'm keeping you here, okay?" Brett sighed, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. It felt like Eddy was saying he had pretty much ruined his life by capturing him. "You know why I have to, yeah? I'm sorry."

"I thought we were talking about kids?," Eddy quirked an eyebrow slightly. He could tell Brett was feeling bad about it ,since it was obvious. So he decided to take a softer approach by sitting up and pulling Brett to his chest for a proper hug, " Hey it's fine, there's no hard feelings it's just your job. I know Brett, I know. "  Eddy rested his chin on top of Brett's head since he nestled the boy there. How strange it was to try and comfort the person who captured him, threw his life out of whack and he was going to kill sooner or later.  Brett inhaled Eddy's scent, feeling how shaky he was. Was he really about to cry? Fuck no,  "I'm sorry anyway," he mumbled quietly. Having Eddy hold him like this was very nice, like a dream. "Fuck, this is stupid. Sorry."

"Don't apologize it's going to be fine. Be quiet and still for the time being, " Eddy began to rub soothing circles into the elder man's back,  "This isn't stupid and you aren't stupid for feeling something. It makes you human which is okay."  He whispered softly trying to figure out how to get Brett to relax again.  Brett took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment,  "It's not okay, I'm on the job," Brett sighed, his voice breaking on the word 'okay.' "It's fine, I'm not usually like this. I can handle myself."

"Shhhh let this happen, you might not get another hug for a while, you might need it. And technically you're not on the job because you should be sleeping right now, you don't need to hold anything back," Eddy definitely knew that Brett was prone to bottling everything up, and most likely would always be. He wanted the man to have at least something good.

"I'm always on the job," Brett mumbled against Eddy's chest, not really caring if this was just a trick to actually finally kill him. If this was how he'd go, he didn't care. "I do like the hug, though."

"Well not tonight, you're officially on break," Eddy declared, bringing his free hand to the back of Brett's head to hold him there, " Hugs are nice, I suppose you don't receive a lot. "  Brett sighed, shaking his head,  "It doesn't work like that, Eddy. I can't stop being on the job. If something happens, I still gotta run," he said quietly, feeling Eddy's chest rise and fall with his breathing. "And you're right, I don't get hugs. I don't let people that close usually."  Eddy threaded his fingers into Brett's hair, "It could work like that, you just worry too much. I won't let anything happen to you, remember I said you were mine to dethrone. I won't let anyone harm you. "  He lightly rubbed Brett's scalp massaging it, " Well thanks for letting me close enough to do so. "

"It can't work like that. I don't think you'd understand," Brett mumbled, taking a fistful of Eddy's t-shirt in his hand. He leaned against Eddy's touch slightly, feeling a bit like a cat.

"I probably wouldn't. I'm not a man of business," Eddy sighed, he remained still letting Brett remain in his arms.

"Sorry," Brett sighed again, letting tension he didn't know he was holding in his shoulders go. "Don't worry about it, I'm used to it."

"Brett, you don't need to apologize for anything you haven't done anything wrong in this particular moment, " Eddy wasn't sure what to do now, was this even a socially appropriate hug. He knew after twenty seconds in a hug oxytocin would start being released.

"I feel like I have," Brett mumbled, letting the fabric of Eddy's t-shirt go again. "It's probably because of this absurd situation, I guess. It would've been so much easier to deal with you if you'd just hate me like everyone else does."  It felt strange to have Brett behaving so vulnerably in his arms," It's hard to hate someone when I met them at the age 13. I knew the Brett Yang before he was a hardened criminal, as most people see you as. Sure we haven't kept in contact but I can't ignore our history. It's still there and will always be there. Looking at you I will always see the kid who sucked at math. Ironically you're probably really good at it now. I can't bring myself to hate that kid or who you are now."  Eddy wondered if Brett's sleepiness was what drove the elder to be more open.  "I thought you hated me when you left, honestly," Brett muttered, followed by a yawn. "But let's not think about that now."

"No I never did," Eddy sighed, he needed to escape that life… on the other hand it seems he's gotten himself into a worse one by far, " You need to sleep."

"So do you," Brett sighed, trying to sit up more properly, but was half held back by Eddy's arms. "Sorry, do you want to go back to your room? I don't mean to keep you up."

"I don't really care either way, but if you have me sent back to the room make a guard take me so you can get ready for bed. Okay? " Eddy started to remove himself from Brett. 

Brett shook his head, rubbing his eyes again,  "I don't mind having you, it's... I mean..." he mumbled, running his hand through his hair again. "You probably don't want to sleep here."

"I would love to stay with you... But I can't right now. I'd keep you up and it would look suspicious to your guards. I don't want you to tarnish your reputation because of me, " Eddy also didn't want to step over any boundaries. Being invited to sleep in the same bed was hardly innocent at this age and he still wanted permission.

"You're right, you're right," Brett mumbled, scooting himself to the edge of the bed. "Let me follow you back to your room, though. I need to give some instructions anyway."

Eddy slipped out of the bed slowly, letting his bare feet hit the floor, " Okay if you insist." 

He gave a lopsided grin.


	20. Desire (nsfw)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short filler chapter written by Tsvhide

It had been a lie. He didn't need to give any instructions, Brett just didn't want to let go of Eddy just yet. He felt like he was walking on clouds from the evening that had been everything seventeen year old Brett would have wanted. 

He closed his bedroom door softly behind him, leaning his back against it for a moment. It was as if he still could feel Eddy's careful touches on his chest, his warm body resting heavily against his side, his scent as he pulled him into a hug. Maybe it was fate that brought Eddy to him like this? To remind him how it felt to feel? 

With light steps, he moved to his bed and sat down on it. The room still smelled vaguely of Eddy, and as Brett laid down on his back between the pillows they had rested behind their backs he felt the scent overwhelm him. It was Brett's favourite scent. 

“This is silly,” Brett whispered to himself as he squished his face into the soft pillow smelling like his prisoner. A smile formed on his face. “But I can't help it.”

He sat up again, the pillow pressed to his chest. The rest of the pizza still sat on the little table, the chair where Eddy had sat in his lap was still pushed aside, the floor space they had spared on… The floor space Eddy had pinned him down, where his ass had rested heavily on his… 

“Fuck,” Brett mumbled to himself as every suppressed memory flooded his brain. Eddy saying his name with his hips working against the pillow combined with his ass pressing against his dick along with the hip roll from when he was pinned. Eddy's soft hand on his cheek, the way his lips moved as he spoke… 

Brett let out a quiet moan into the pillow as his own hand traveled down to touch the front of his pants. He hid his face in the pillow, trying to imitate the pressure from Eddy's body weight with his hand. Had he let him win on purpose? Maybe to get the idea of having Eddy pinning him down? 

His dream from the other night filled his mind, Eddy's desperate whimpers and pleas for Brett to please have him. God, there was nothing he wanted more than that right now as he undid his pants with shaky fingers, his mind pretending they were him. 

“F… Fuck, Eddy… “ Brett gasped into the pillow while his own hand caressed his length for a bit before pulling himself out of his pants and underwear. The phantom touches of Eddy's gentle fingers over his chest and him holding him down with his body weight combined in Brett's head, and as he squeezed his eyes shut it was as if he could see it. 

The sound of Eddy moaning his name played again and again in his mind. 

‘Hmmm Brett,’ repeated over and over and it felt like he was going mad from arousal. 

“Ah, Eddy!” Brett exclaimed louder than he'd planned for as he came over his hand with a loud groan, his cheeks burning at how desperate his own voice sounded. 

He was still catching his breath as his brain crash landed after the orgasm. God, he wanted that boy for real, but he knew he couldn't have him. His heart was taken, and what reason would Brett even have to believe Eddy would settle for an ice man like himself in any other circumstances than these? 


	21. Terror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His eyes softened, his mouth opening in a happy gasp,” Alex you came.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Torture/violence/murder pretty vague though in my opinion 
> 
> I was listening to a song called Death Bed while writing this

Eddy glanced around the room now he was alone. Only one feeling filled him: Loneliness. Staying up to talk to Brett had been like a dream. It was lighthearted without too many ulterior motives coming out to play. 

Slowly he approached the bed, ditching his pants on the way to get ready for sleep. 

Maybe he should have taken Brett’s offer and stayed with him. It would have beaten being in the dark bedroom stuck with his own thoughts.

He wouldn’t say he was afraid of the dark, rather afraid of the phantom faces that lurked in the shadows. Phantoms of the dead along with the stain of blood on his hands. These things could never be made clean.

Eddy gulped , jumping straight into the bed not risking to get any closer: One could never know if a monster would grab an ankle if close enough. This was the safest way or perhaps sleeping with the lights on was. Even better would be not sleeping and keeping the lights on! His mind raced: This was stupid, he was a 27 year old man and was still jumping into the bed along with preferring the lights on..

His hands shot up to his face as he groaned,” This is pathetic…”

He fell back into the mattress, wiggling himself under the covers quickly—as some sort of protection. 

Eddy startled thinking he heard a rustling from the bathroom, maybe even scratching across the walls. With one swift motion the assassin pulled the covers over his head, no demons were feasting on him tonight!

“Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out,” Eddy whispered to himself, following the deep breathing pattern, until he felt his heart rate calm down. 

“See it’s okay, there’s nothing under here but you. Although, a man talking to himself who isn’t entirely in the right mind can be pretty scary,” He reluctantly reached out of his cocoon to pull a pillow underneath. He drew it close to himself to curl around, hugging something made him feel safer. Ultimately, hugging a pillow was a useless defense against whatever the darkness held.

Fifteen minutes turned into thirty then thirty turned into an hour, it took nearly two hours and a half before sleep finally took him.

The lull of it scared him more than staying awake. 

**___**

_ “I can’t do this anymore,please stop,” The smell of death filled his senses, tears trailed down his cheeks in globs, soon spilling off of his chin: Everything burnt. _

_ Two voices echoed behind him in chatter, promptly paying no mind to the cries. _

_ “Fledglings are always the most fun to play with. Wouldn’t you say 110?” The voice was low and rough just like the hand threading through his hair, forcing his head back with a forceful tug. Eddy wasn’t being addressed, his pleas simply going ignored.  _

_ This time a silky smooth voice sounded from somewhere in the room. No doubt being one of the conversationalists,” It’s the most fun when they finally break, accepting their fate. Too bad we can’t hurt this one too bad Zero would chop us into pieces.” _

_ “Pfft I’d like to see Alex do anything, he’s not even here to stop us ,” The gruff man pulling his hair finally looked down at Eddy,” Why he even chose to be in a relationship with you is beyond me. You’re weak, you cry and you talk too much. You’re absolutely nothing. You hear me boy? You’re nothing.” _

_ The brute finally let go of his hair allowing his head to fall forward.  _

_ Bangs fell over his puffy eyes,”....I’m nothing…”  _

_ Eddy repeated hoarsely. Maybe if he just agreed they’d let him go sooner, submission and obedience seemed to be a valued thing. Those were things that he could do. _

_ “Finally you got something right, little Fledgling!” The calloused hand returned, lightly patting his cheek as a way to show he did something good...Supposedly.  _

**___**

Ray could hear it again from his post–right beside the guest room doors: The prisoner was crying, not only crying but whimpering. 

The guard glanced around nervously, it hadn’t looked like a trick the first time. He would know if it were, because he checked the footage later that day to see what had happened the first time. It’s not like he was trying to pry, he cared in a strange way. 

A louder cry brought him out of his thoughts; Before he knew it he was pulling the key to the room off of his belt, unlocking the door quickly. 

The sight before him was Eddy withering under the blankets, his form shaking uncontrollably with every new wail that ripped through his esophagus.

"No, stop!" The prisoner shrieked in his sleep, thrashing against the sheets, a fruitless attempt to escape.

Ray gently closed the door behind himself, not knowing what the hell he should do. Situations like these weren't exactly specified in his training. 

He took a deep breath, gathering his courage whilst walking towards the bed. First things first, he should untangle Eddy. After that he wasn't sure.

Disentangling the captive proved harder than one would have expected. Ray almost got kicked and/or punched on multiple occasions, when he got too close. Once Eddy’s hand was free it flailed, smacking the older male, then weakly fell back to the mattress . The boys' struggles seemed to relent momentarily.

Ray rubbed his thigh where he had been back handed, ”Who knew that someone sleeping could still leave bruises…Damn.”

He carefully sat on the edge, watching how Eddy stirred. His crying hadn’t stopped, tears continued to trial down his cheeks with no sign of stopping anytime soon.

The rookie could feel his heart ache for this troubled soul, it was such a strange thing to pity what most would assume a monster. Without thinking he grabbed the hand that rested on top of the comforter. 

Almost absent mindedly he ran his thumb over the scarred knuckles, taking note of the indents most likely from teeth and how the younger’s fingers didn’t exactly align with the knuckles. That was strange, it was subtle but Ray could feel the distinction in the bone. Carefully, Ray cradled his hand, lifting it for further examination. Eddy’s hand was a bit off as well, it was slanted in instead of settling perfectly into the joints of his wrist.

“ I wonder what caused this, doesn’t seem like a birth defect,” He didn’t need to go to medical school—although he did—to tell that the scarring around the appendage pertained to the damage.

**___**

_ A rigid blade traced along his jugular, jabbing dangerously close to the juncture between his shoulder and neck,” What a shame that you’re strapped to the chair, having them fight back is so much better. Although I must say you’re prettier stained with your own blood.”  _

_ The sweet voice masked the monstrosity the woman was, he decided he hated her and the burly man alike. _

_ Eddy took a deep breath, trying not to squirm, if he did, surely the blade would become more fatal.  _

_ The sharp edge was drawn down his arm, making a thin cut all the way to his wrist– the insides of his arms were facing the ceiling due to the way he was restrained. Droplets of blood pooled, spilling down his brawny skin. _

_ 110 finally stilled her knife, watching how the color red stained the divots of his wrist, she didn't want him to bleed out: No that would be too humane, it was much more fun to see the way the boys face crumpled in agony. _

_ 110 almost feigned interest while she asked,"You play violin, right? I hear that Zero enjoys listening to you." _

_ "Yes," Eddy bit down on his lip, hard. His answer came out as a squeak. It would be an understatement to say he was scared. He was beyond afraid, the question was unsettling. _

_ ~pop~ _

_ Eddy felt like he was going to throw up. One by one she began to dislocate his fingers. At least she wasn't cruel enough to break them, he thought through his own screams. _

**___**

"No hurts… hurts," a weak whine came from the back of Eddy's throat trying to pull his hand away," Hurts."

Ray hushed gently, "shhh it's okay, you're okay. " 

He felt like he was addressing a kid who had just fallen. Ray started to massage along Eddy’s hand and between his fingers in an attempt to help him relax,” See you’re okay.”

It seemed to sooth the assassin, whether it be the massage or the words Ray didn’t care; He continued both if it meant Eddy would become still and mostly silent. 

Maybe he could massage some of the boy's fingers back in place while he was at it, although unlikely since years of damage wasn’t easily fixed in one go. 

**__**

_ Everything was crimson, he didn't know how it happened. All he knew was that there was a chunk of flesh between his teeth and a corpse at his feet. Apparently he had taken a portion of the womens neck. _

_ Dull teeth had sunk into delicate skin, ripping at the throat. Everything spilled out like a savory wine, staining his face and wherever else it dripped.  _

_ In a vicious scene of lashing out, his bonds were broken and the tormentor slaughtered. Only one, which left another standing in shock. The burly man didn’t have time to react though, the thick metal door was already being swung open.  _

_ Eddy wasn’t sure if he was relieved or horrified at the possibility of it being someone to continue his torture as a replacement for 110.  _

_ His eyes softened, his mouth opening in a happy gasp,” Alex you came.” _

_ He felt like crying again but this time from pure joy, he was never happier seeing his boyfriends soft features than he was at this moment.  _

_ Alex shot the cowering man a sharp glare,” 109, get out now before I change my mind on letting you live.” _

_ 109 didn’t need to be told twice, without a word he filed out of the interrogation room. Now Zero could solely focus on his boyfriend,” Eddy baby, come here.” _

_ His almond eyes softened wearily whilst he opened his arms, inviting his lover in for a hug. _

_ “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t have protected you...I should have been here sooner,” Alex spoke guiltily watching the way Eddy hobbled then slumped into his arms. _

_ Eddy let his non-injured hand wander as if making sure that Zero was actually there with him,” You came.” _

_ He mumbled in disbelief,burying his face in the shorter males shoulder. _

_ “I’m here now, it's okay. Shh it's okay, you're okay.” Alex squeezed the tallers’ waist gingerly, feeling how Eddy trembled,” I got you, you’re safe now.” _

**__**   
  


Eddy grew more peaceful in his sleep, squeezing the hand that was holding his own. One last murmur escaped his lips,” You finally came.”

Sadly, when he’d wake up the next morning there would be no one there for him. He’d still be a bird trapped in its cage, awaiting its fate.

For now though, he’d have Ray holding his hand throughout the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my favorite chapter that I wrote


	22. Rumor has it

Inu was about to end his morning rounds when he noticed something strange: Ray was slipping out of the room that had been given to the prisoner. It was against regulation to be in there unless something was wrong. Did Eddy pull a strange stunt again, was there medical care needed or was there another option. His eyes narrowed at the Rookies disappearing form, if something was indeed wrong it would show up in the report so why bother to ask. With a shrug and a sharp gaze he continued his way to the break room, maybe Victor would know. He was the one that resided over the other guards but also had night shift, which made him the most knowledgeable, supposedly. 

Victor inhaled the sweet scent of the coffee as it filled the room. He had been watching the dark brown liquid drip into the pot for a few minutes now, sleepy after a full night of working. Just another hour after the break and then he could go home to his bed. He looked over at the line dirty coffee mugs and found his, the one with the little chip in it. The chair he had been sitting on creaked as he stood up to go rinse it out. Maybe he should wash it as well? He looked inside it. Nah, good for another round at least.

Inu walked into the break room silently, there was no need to announce his presence yet. Instead of saying anything, he leaned on the door frame. A small smirk was toying on his lips as he watched the burly man shuffling to get his coffee. No one was more dedicated than Victor in Inu’s eyes. No matter how late the man stayed up the prior night, he was always here in the morning.

The coffee scent got even stronger as he poured the coffee from the pot into his mug and went back to sit at the little kitchen table the boss kindly had bought for them upon his request. It made these mornings so much better. He looked over at the figure that had entered and gave a small nod when he saw the familiar face. Normally he wasn’t the guy to be very talkative in the morning, but he could make an exception for Inu. At least after a few sips of his coffee.

“Good morning, Victor. How was watch last night?” Inu slowly pushed off the frame to stride into the room. Maybe he’d get himself some coffee too, as for now he took a seat across from the other guard, “This morning I noticed Ray walking out of the prisoners room, was something wrong?”

He jumped straight to the point, it was no use cutting around the corners when he wanted answers.

Victor furrowed his brows, taking a sip of the strong, black coffee before answering. The coffee wasn’t strong enough for him until a spoon would stand up in it. At least that’s what the joke about his coffee taste said.   
“This morning? I heard him in there last night,” he said, putting his mug down on the table. Ray should have been back on post way before this morning, shouldn’t he? “The prisoner was screaming and stuff, so I assumed the boss had asked him to do something, but this morning? That’s a long time…” Inu tilted his head back in thought,” How odd.”

He murmured under his breath to himself, none of that seemed to add up. Especially when Victor was the first one to know when the boss gave orders. It was the man’s job to make sure the other guards were doing what they were supposed to be doing. So if there was no trouble and the boss hadn’t said anything then….Inu’s mind went silent as a scowl spread across his face, ”Screaming you said?”

“Sounded… almost like he was…” Victor’s voice trailed off before he could finish his sentence and his face twisted into a frown. “That fucker.”   
He shook his head disapprovingly, taking another sip of his coffee. “Literally fucker. Shit. Maybe I should tell the boss?”   
  


“Do you think Ray would really do that. He seemed so nice and understanding,” True Inu didn’t know Ray really well so he couldn’t actually make judgement on the rookies character. But he wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt first, unless Victor thought differently. He worked more closely with Ray. “ Especially without consent?”

“Might be an act. You never know,” Victor mumbled, swallowing another gulp of coffee. He felt almost betrayed, or at least tricked, by the fresh addition to the guard force. The trust he had put in this boy, a weakling with a clever mind finding gaps in the market. He hadn’t exactly been the ultimate guard material, but Victor had chosen to take him in anyway - only to be fooled like that? He didn’t like the turn that was taking, and he knew that if it was the case that Ray was sleeping with the prisoner, with or without consent, it would come back to bite HIS ass as well. “We don’t have any actual proof, though. I don’t know, the boss will probably be annoyed if we accuse him without proof.”

“Innocent until proven guilty, I suppose. We’ll investigate it for the boss then. I do not see him pleased with any scenario,” Inu looked back to Victor, searching his features to see what course of action he planned on. He would follow where Victor led.

“More like very suspicious until proven otherwise,” Victor mumbled, shaking his head. “Very suspicious.”   
He stood up to refill his coffee mug. He needed another mug for this stupid situation.   
“I should have checked it out last night. The prisoner sounded like he was in pain,” Victor groaned in annoyance. How could he be so blind? Deaf? “I hope we’re wrong, but… what else could it be, you know?”   


“My guesses are as good as yours. I don’t see any reasons or logical answers as to why or what happened .”Inu cracked his neck, thinking of what options they possibly had. How could they prove it, or disprove it? 

“Maybe we should ask the prisoner himself if something happened, although I do doubt he’d tell us anything. Also he isn’t safe, he did choke me.”  He rubbed his throat awkwardly.

“His responses are unreliable at best,” Victor agreed, rubbing his forehead. It was too early to deal with this. “I say we just… see what happens. Keep an eye out. I mean, what else can we do, right?”   
Inu nodded slightly as he listened, it was a hard call to make,” I’ll keep an eye out then, if we get hard evidence I will confront it head on.” 

He couldn’t stand the idea of something actually going on between the two if it was against one of their wills. 


	23. Caller Id

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was impossible not to notice how soft Eddy looked while talking to Alex. More… relaxed, maybe? It was strange to see this cold blooded assassin like that. It reminded him almost of the Eddy he knew before they both got tangled into this world of crime and murder. Brett kind of missed the old days, especially seeing him like that. Eddy didn’t mind too much now that he grew used to Brett’s presence. It wasn’t all too bad that the elder was there watching him. It wasn’t doing too much damage. All they were doing was chatting at this point, or was the appearingly normal conversation all code.

Finding the phone and plugging it into the recording device was easy. Finding a comfortable chair for Eddy to sit in was easy, and even making sure the call was difficult to trace was easy. What was hard was knowing Eddy would be talking to his girlfriend in just a few minutes. But of course, he wasn’t jealous. Eddy wasn’t his to be jealous about.  
“So, there’s gotta be rules for the call,” he said to Eddy as he sat back down in his chair. It was simply about pressing the “call”-button now. Maybe she wouldn’t even answer him? “I’ll be present, that’s number one.”

“Okay, so that’s rule number one, what’s the other rules,” Eddy raised an eyebrow, he’d have to speak in some code to get points across to Alex without Brett realizing it. It was better to speak in code than other languages, since he didn’t know which ones Brett could understand.

“On speakerphone. That’s the second rule,” Brett said, running a hand through his hair. He wasn’t completely sure if this was a good idea. Maybe he was being too nice? “And if I catch you saying anything that could lead anyone here, I’ll have to end the call. I hope you understand.”

“But if I already told before you stop the call, what’s the use of that?” Eddy asked not really seeing the point with that. Like it was understandable to end the call but also kind of useless that far in.

“Because I assume you’re interested in continuing to talk to her,” Brett said, raising an eyebrow. The way Eddy talked made him unsure. It seemed even more like a bad idea now. “Or did you have any plans to say something stupid? I don’t have to be nice, you know.”

“I suppose you are right about that,” Eddy was more in the business of escaping but if that bribe floated Brett’s boat then so be it, “I would also like to point out that I actually don’t know where I am. Like I haven’t been outside so there’s no way I could know your address. Just saying. Also define stupid? Like stupid, idiotic or punishable stupid?”

He knew Brett didn’t have to be nice but he had a feeling that the elder wouldn’t be mean to him. Just a hunch considering all of the bosses other special treatment.

“As in anything that could be considered information for the organization,” Brett said flatly, shaking his head. He didn’t like Eddy’s tone with this. He should really be more grateful, in his opinion. Well, maybe he would show it better after. “Oh, and it’d be nice if you didn’t let it drag out forever. Keep it to around half an hour. I’ll let you know when it’s time.”

“As you wish,” Eddy nodded slightly, he was a lot more excited about it last night, when he had jumped in Brett’s lap to hug. But a night full of nightmares and waking up alone really messed with a person's mood. Especially when he woke up in hope that Alex had come,instead it was an empty room where he was held prisoner. This of course made him a lot more pissy with Brett, the man keeping him away from his life and his lover! 

“Alright, then. Here you go,” Brett said, shoving the phone across his desk. He dreaded how sweet they’d probably sound together. He dreaded the proof of her existence. “Let’s hope she picks up.”

“One can always hope,” Eddy gingerly took the phone as he sighed. He hoped Alex would pick up, otherwise he would just be angry at the world for a bit longer. The assassin quickly dialed the number, not sure how he felt about the information being known by the people there. After that he set the phone down, putting it on speaker phone so they could hear it ring. 

Brett felt his stomach tighten as the tone repeated a few times. He was probably more nervous than Eddy while waiting for an answer. He caught himself wondering what kind of voice she had. Was she soft spoken? Or was Eddy more into some melodic voice, or maybe just a more tom-boy kind of girl? She did work for the organization after all…

Finally someone picked up the call, “Hello who is this?”

It was a man who answered… Eddy smiled slightly to hearing that warm british accent. God, he loved it so much,”Hey, Alex. It’s me.”

The line went dead silent, it sounded the other guy was tearing up on the other end, if the sniffling told them anything.

“I thought they killed you,” Alex exclaimed quietly through his own sniffling.

“They kept me alive dear. Don’t fret, I’m mostly okay,” Eddy tried to ignore that Brett was in the room with him as they talked.

Wait…? No no, that couldn’t be right? Was he hearing this right? Brett wasn’t sure what to think anymore. That was definitely a man, wasn’t it? He leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. Of course that made sense. Eddy wouldn’t willingly give up the gender of his partner, and when Brett guessed a girl he went with it. Of course he did. So much for trusting Eddy, and he still lied to him about something as basic as that.  
It couldn’t be denied, though, that Brett felt the tiniest of hopes that he wasn’t completely out of Eddy’s range. Except the fact that he was taken, though. Stupid brain, stupid thoughts.

“Mostly?” Alex’s voice was strained, it made him really worried. How much did they do to his poor baby!? He’d kill them, every single one, then bathe in their blood for even laying a finger on his boyfriend.

“Don’t worry, I just got shot in the shoulder,” Eddy rubbed his shoulder gently where he had been shot. It still hurt but pain meds wasn’t an option. He wasn’t going to get drugged again, “That was on the initial mission but after that the prince of crime really treated me well. Feeds me still.”

Brett huffed at that. Of course he fed him, what kind of captor didn’t if they weren't trying to starve them into giving up information, anyway? Also, what the hell was that nickname? The prince of crime? At least he told this guy, Alex, that he was being treated well.

“I thought I told you never to describe him again like that, it’s really cringe,” Alex chuckled softly,even if still strained. At least Eddy’s sense of humor was still intact, he must really be okay. 

Eddy giggled slightly,he liked to make Alex happy. He wished he could see the other man’s smile, “I made no promises that I wouldn’t use it, you’re not my mom. You can’t tell me what to do.”

“But I’m your boyfriend, don’t make me come over there to whoop your ass,” Alex said jokingly, he would never lay a hand on his precious boy. 

Eddy leaned back in the chair trying to get more comfy as they talked, “Is that a threat or a promise?”

“Promise.”

Brett cleared his throat at the last part, mainly to let this Alex know he was there. He hadn’t been able to keep his face from frowning upon hearing the word “boyfriend”, though, which disappointed even himself. He did agree with Alex on one thing, though, and that was that Eddy shouldn’t ever describe him as “the prince of crime”. It was indeed really cringe.

“Should have known you’re being monitored, and are on speaker…” Oh Alex had a few words for whomever was sitting there keeping Eddy captive, “Once I find you, I will slit your throat and pull your tongue through it to show you the true meaning of columbian necktie. I swear it will be even more of a blood bath than bloody Mary’s whole reign!”

“Heel boy, no need to do that. My friend here doesn’t deserve such a fate. He’s chill,” Eddy glanced to Brett, he would keep his promise. The elder wouldn’t die by anyone else's hand but his own.

Brett just snorted at the threat. He didn’t think it was likely that anyone else would get to him either, seeing as Eddy had failed. It was nice that Eddy called him his friend, though. It made it feel like everything was actually genuine, that he hadn’t completely lost the connection he used to have with Eddy.

Alex huffed quiet loudly at the other end of the line, he couldn’t understand why Eddy was defending this jackass. He didn’t understand his boyfriend sometimes, Eddy’s ways were higher than his own, “Fine, if you say so…”

“It’s okay, babe. I promise, “ Eddy hummed his reply, it was kinda a new thing to protect someone for his boyfriend .

Brett scrunched up his nose. Ugh. ‘Babe’. At least Eddy was defending him, which he didn’t exactly have to do. The question was, though, if that was just because he was listening and he was holding him captive.

“Okay, okay, if you promise,” Alex sounded very begrudging about it but he didn’t want to argue about it with Eddy. He should be just glad that Eddy was okay, and he was. 

“Yep, it’s a promise. Don’t worry one bit. I can handle myself you know, for the most part,” Eddy closed his eyes with a quiet hum.

It was impossible not to notice how soft Eddy looked while talking to Alex. More… relaxed, maybe? It was strange to see this cold blooded assassin like that. It reminded him almost of the Eddy he knew before they both got tangled into this world of crime and murder. Brett kind of missed the old days, especially seeing him like that. Eddy didn’t mind too much now that he grew used to Brett’s presence. It wasn’t all too bad that the elder was there watching him. It wasn’t doing too much damage. All they were doing was chatting at this point, or was the appearingly normal conversation all code.

“I got to spar a bit with the boss, I was thinking next time to do a bit more grappling,” Eddy continued humming as he talked to Alex. Alex hummed back in thought, “Seems chill to me.”

“More grappling, huh?” Brett muttered under his breath with a quick chuckle. Alright, if that’s what he wanted.

“Good to know you’re chill with it,” Eddy nodded to himself mostly, he always wanted to be respectful to his boyfriend and especially with what he meant by grappling.

“I love you baby boy, just be careful. You aren’t exactly the most safe...to yourself,” Alex chuckled slightly, probably wearing a thin smile on his face.

Brett thought about Alex’ words. Not safe to himself? Maybe he should have been taking notes from this. At least he had everything on tape. He’d listen through it later to catch more details. Also, ‘baby boy’?

“Calling me danger prone, short stuff? If you could see me I would be sticking my tongue out at you most definitely. “ Eddy rolled his eyes and shook his head, “Okay maybe I am a bit danger prone, but come on give me a bit of credit. “

He looked at Brett with a small smile, “Can you believe this guy?” 

“Eddy, don’t talk to your captors about me!” Alex laughed slightly, the pair could make a good time out of a shitty situation.

Brett just shook his head. He wanted no part in their flirting. To avoid answering, he checked the time on his own phone.  
“Ten minutes,” he told Eddy, placing his phone screen down on the desk. It probably would have been longer, but he was getting tired of this.

Eddy nodded to Brett, he’d mope about it later when he was back in his room. He missed Alex, and now he missed him even more. He really needed to get out of there, which also meant killing Brett... Could he do that? He took a deep breath, he might have failed once but not again. He still had a few days left to kick it all into action, “You heard the man, Alex, only ten minutes left. So gotta get everything out now. I love you, miss your stupid face and silly british accent,” 

Yeah, this was killing him on the inside a bit.

“Same to you, you Aussie. My promise still holds, Eddy. Hold on, okay. Be safe, be careful and stay alive.” 

A long time ago both had accepted that one of them could die. So it was a common place for them to share their goodbyes, with _stay alive._

“Stay alive to you too, and then so will I. I doubt I’ll get killed here though, Bretty won’t kill me. Not yet at least, once he gets bored of me perhaps,” Eddy sighed as he listened, he’d wait for death.

“Of course you won’t be killed, we’re mates, right?” Brett sighed, kind of hurt that Eddy still thought that after their evening together. “And… it’s impossible to get bored of you. I think I’m not the only one who thinks so, but… it’s true.”  
Brett sighed and stood up to pace around a bit. Sitting still made him feel weird.  
“Five minutes.”

Eddy looked at Brett quirking an eyebrow at him since he was talking, he could bring up how mates don’t try to kill each other or hold one captive. He decided not to bring that part up because it wouldn’t help his cause.

“People have tossed me out like trash before so we’ll see,” Eddy purred his reply as if it were a normal thing to say then turned back to his convo with Alex, “I’ll see you whenever, I don’t know when that is but know that I’ll be thinking of you.”

“I’m always thinking of you too sweetie. I guess this is goodbye for now.” Alex sighed, it was kinda a bummer but they’d make it through this.

“Goodbye for now,” Eddy licked his lips slightly knowing that they would have to hang up now.

Brett held out his hand for the phone, waiting for Eddy to hang up and hand it to him. He felt bad for making it short, but there was a significant risk in keeping the call on. If he felt like breaking his own heart into smaller pieces again in the future, he might consider letting him call again. For now, though, he was keeping his face blank. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Eddy to be happy, because he really wanted that. It was just that he wanted to be the one to make him happy. It was wrong of him to want that, though. Eddy slowly hung up and placed the phone in the man’s hand. Now he felt depressed again. He rather have someone to say goodbye to, rather than have no one at all ,but it was still a major bummer. 

“Thanks… I guess this means I gotta go back to my room,” Eddy didn’t think that was too bad, he could just cry by himself.

“I mean, you could stay here for a bit if you want but… yeah, eventually at least,” Brett said, feeling bad about how sad Eddy seemed now after hanging up. It was stupid, really. He was his captor, he shouldn’t feel bad. “I mean, if you want to talk or… a hug, I guess?”

Eddy probably shouldn’t accept any hugs or comfort from Brett and probably should be really angry at the man, but a hug seemed too good to pass up on,”Can I get a hug please?” Eddy opened his arms up to signal it was hug time.

“Yeah, you can,” Brett said, moving over to Eddy and wrapping his arms around him in a secure hug. He made sure not to twist his shoulder at all, doing his best to make it okay despite knowing Eddy would prefer a million times over a hug from probably anyone but him. This was the best he had to offer, though.

Eddy carefully hugged Brett back, he kept to himself emotionally, not wanting to show his weakness to the elder. He would have to deal with this for now. It wasn’t all too bad, accept he wasn’t home and very very lonely. But that was fine. He had Brett at this moment.


	24. Red Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddy hadn’t been as proactive in the escape a day or two after the phone call. His nightmares got worse, so he didn’t sleep. He didn’t even talk to Brett as much when the boss came to see him, truth was that anger didn’t mix well with his seduction plan. So he opted to stay quiet instead of making the iceman run away crying. It was counterproductive, really. He even wasted his precious time sulking, now there was like only six days left for him to escape! Yet he had no energy to actually move from the bed and find his will to live.
> 
> Brett was tired of Eddy being all sulky and not really appreciating what he did. He had tried everything from nicer food to access to a television. Of course, he could understand that he missed Alex, but honestly? He wished he had been missed like Alex was during their years apart. 

Eddy hadn’t been as proactive in the escape a day or two after the phone call. His nightmares got worse, so he didn’t sleep. He didn’t even talk to Brett as much when the boss came to see him, truth was that anger didn’t mix well with his seduction plan. So he opted to stay quiet instead of making the iceman run away crying. It was counterproductive, really. He even wasted his precious time sulking, now there was like only six days left for him to escape! Yet he had no energy to actually move from the bed and find his will to live.

Brett was tired of Eddy being all sulky and not really appreciating what he did. He had tried everything from nicer food to access to a television. Of course, he could understand that he missed Alex, but honestly? He wished he had been missed like Alex was during their years apart. 

Instead of being sulky right back at him, though, Brett decided to do something nice for him. Something extra nice. That's why he now stood outside his room, knocking gently on the door. 

“Come in,” Eddy lifted his head slightly before lying it back down on the pillow, he was just staring at the barred up window that taunted him with the lack of freedom. A caged bird could only fly as far as the bars allowed it. These bars didn’t let him fly very far, being confined would drive Eddy crazy! Not just that, he was stuck and watching everything he ever cared about slip through his fingers like sand.

“Just me,” Brett said softly as he entered. He could of course tell that Eddy wasn’t fine with the situation. Honestly, though, he didn’t blame him. Why did they have to send Eddy after him anyway? “How you feeling?”

“Tired, “ Eddy simply said that since he wasn’t feeling the need to go through the long list of his emotions. He felt a lot of things, a lot of things he didn’t want to deal with. His mind was spiralling into a depression he had only felt when Alex was arrested in russia. It was a bitter feeling festering in his heart, causing everything to be unpleasant.

“I guess I should’ve figured,” Brett mumbled, running a hand through his hair. He did genuinely feel bad for his prisoner, but he didn’t really know how to actually fix it for him either without ruining everything he had built up. He could either screw it up for Eddy or for himself and all the people working for him. “I do have a little uh… surprise… for you, though. If you promise not to try anything funky.”

Eddy was almost excited when he heard the word surprise, maybe Brett finally decided to torture him or kill him. One could only hope for torture, it would give him an actual reason to fight back, “Surprise? I’m too tired to do anything to harm you.”

He wiped his bloodshot eyes before turning his head to look at Brett.

“Yeah? Good, cause I think you might… well I hope you’ll like it, at least,” Brett said, sounding a bit unsure. He really thought what he was about to do wasn’t a great idea, but he hated seeing 

Eddy so miserable. “Get some shoes on.”   
Eddy looked at Brett wearily, that meant he had to get up. He didn’t want to get up, he rather disappear, “Okay…”

The younger male rolled out of bed with a small huff. He glanced around for his combat boots to get this over with, he wasn’t sure what the surprise was but he was sure that it wouldn’t make him feel any less like shit.

Brett leaned on the door frame as he waited for Eddy to put his shoes on. Okay, maybe it wasn’t a great idea, but at least he tried, right?   
“You see, I… I talked to the boys and they… well, I had them check the yard… It should be all fine to take a trip outside,” Brett said, even trying a little smile. He hoped to get a matching one from Eddy. “And the weather isn’t all that bad either.”

Eddy blinked owlishly as he stared, “You remembered that I wanted to see your garden…..?”

He furrowed his brows in mild confusion, it was nice though that the elder had remembered this tiny desire. Although he had also asked for Brett to execute him in the garden if Brett decided to get rid of him. Oh shit, this wasn’t looking good. He may have lost his will but he at least wanted to see Alex before he died! Unstable emotions from the lack of sleep led to his eyes easily watering up because he was pretty sure he was going to die now.

“Yeah? I mean… I know I’m keeping you captive and all, but I thought maybe…? You know, that you’d like to see… the roses and all..?” Brett said, sounding unsure now that he saw how emotional Eddy got. Maybe this was a bad idea? Maybe it would just make it worse, that it would feel too much like he was trying to replace Alex? “They’re in bloom nowadays, and… and I guess they smell kinda nice?”

Eddy had said his blood would even match well with the roses, the mentioning of them was definitely a sign of Brett’s true intentions! He had only two options here; run or kill Brett first. Both were tough choices, all he could do was say a prayer and hope for the best. This was a very cruel world sometimes. 

The assassin nodded slightly to Brett, “I like roses… they’re good to bury with people.”

“I guess? I haven’t thought about it,” Brett shrugged, still waiting for Eddy to get his boots on. He was patient, but he knew the garden was safe now and probably not in half an hour or so. He tapped his foot a bit impatiently. He didn’t want his surprise ruined! “Let’s go now, so we won’t miss it while it’s clear of other people.”

“Yeah they used them during the black plague to get rid of the smell of death. It’s quite effective,” Eddy slid his shoes on finally! He was hoping that maybe his hints of knowing what the man was planning would ward him off from the idea of falling through with it. In his mind he made a plan to run. He would deal with his punishment later but he was going to run. 

“Yeah? I’ll remember that next time,” Brett said with a small smile, opening the door for him so they could head out. He had asked the guards to back off for this, assured them he had this. He wasn’t going to tell Eddy that, of course. It would make it too easy to run away, to leave him behind again. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Eddy was not ready to go, his heart was beating fast and already pumping him with adrenaline for the stupid he was about to commit. Of course there was still a possibility of being shot while running but he at least had more of a chance to survive. For right now he had to get his heavy hearted emotions in check so he wouldn’t screw this up. Flight or fight. Even if he knew this was coming at some point, he thought they’d at least have the third F option weaved in: Fucking. 

“Cool. It’ll be nice to see the garden,” Brett said as he stepped out of the room before Eddy. He trusted Eddy way too much for it to actually be safe, and Eddy had to notice that by now, right? He brought him outside with no cuffs, he walked with his back to him, he rarely ever had guards nearby while talking to him. Eddy had to have noticed by now. “I haven’t been in a while myself. It looked nice from my office window, though.”

“It’s sad you don’t get to enjoy it much then,” Eddy fidgeted with his hands not knowing what to expect out of this, he could only assume the worst so he could combat it. Like the obedient pup Eddy was he followed behind Brett with his hypothetical tail between his legs.

“I’ll get to enjoy it with you now, though,” Brett said, turning to look at Eddy with a smile. He wished Eddy would smile back, but of course it was a big ask in a stupid situation like this. God, he wished he could be the one to comfort Eddy with a tight hug and a kiss. “I think it’ll be nice. Get some air and all.”

Eddy kept his gaze mostly to his feet, he wasn’t sure if he could actually hold it together if he looked Brett in the eye. He knew he deserved this, what else did he deserve? He failed his boyfriend, he failed his once friend and he failed the organization. Air was for those who succeeded. This train of thought told him that he really was really spiraling.

Brett led the way down the hallway and the stairs, actually a bit excited to show Eddy his garden that he had planned out all those years ago. He had some help of course, but he had chosen the layout, the colours and the style. It felt almost like he had made it himself, and finally getting to show it off to Eddy, someone who he cared so much about when it was made, was really nice. He still cared a lot about Eddy, more than what probably was healthy in the situation they were in.

Eddy glanced around slightly burning the new locations of the house into his mind, if he was going to run he needed to know his surroundings which meant making a mental map. With that he could utilize it for an advantage. He needed any advantage he could get.

“Your house really is big.”

He said something finally.

“I guess it is,” Brett shrugged, holding onto the railing as he walked before Eddy down the stairs. He had thought the house was a bit big when he bought it, at least for just him. Of course, he hadn’t really thought it’d be just him forever. He had thought maybe he would be able to forget Eddy, that he’d find someone - maybe a girl? Maybe he’d get a little family going?   
He did manage to charm many girls with it, but none who ever made him forget Eddy. “It’s nice when you have people working for you here too. You don’t feel like they walk all over you even if they are in the house with you. It still feels private.”

“Yeah… I’m more of a cozy cottage person,” Eddy tried to make some small talk as to not give Brett any suspicions of his own plans. It wouldn’t be very good if Brett could counter attack his counter move, not good at all.

“Yeah? Not a fan, then, I guess?” Brett asked, actually a bit hurt. It was stupid, really, it was just a house. It didn’t matter what Eddy thought. At least it shouldn’t matter what he thought. “How did you say you live with Alex? Like a flat or…?”

“I’ve been mostly confined to one room so I don’t have much opinion on your mansion. You decorate nicely. Alex and I bought a house together, actually. It’s just a one story but with a loft area that makes it appear as if there were two stories. Our bedroom is in the lofted area. By a circular window.” Talking about it was his happy place but also a very sad place because Eddy really missed home and just missed it, “I decorated it with some fairy lights and lanterns we made to look like clouds on a craft night.”

It was kinda dorky or maybe even weird to some people but that’s just how Alex and Eddy liked to live their lives, with mundane domestic things to bond.

“I didn’t decorate it myself, really. Or, I had a hand in it, but I mostly paid someone to make it nice,” Brett mumbled, shrugging. He listened as Eddy described his and Alex’s house. It sounded lovely, and he felt the sting of jealousy as he opened the front door for Eddy. “It sounds nice with the fairy lights. And the clouds.”   
He hated being jealous over stupid things like that, but he still was. The stupid feelings were slowly melting the ice man, and he hated it. It made him feel weak.

“When you’re up most of the night fighting your demons it makes really nice and comforting scenery. It’s soothing, “ Eddy nodded to him with a faint smile, he really did miss it but talking about home seemed to ease his nerves a bit. It brought up a lot of memories, like Alex holding him close under the soft glow of the fairy lights and makeshift clouds.

“It sounds like it. Like how it would be in heaven, just here on Earth,” Brett said, sounding almost dreamy. He had to admit, it sounded nice. Especially the idea of holding Eddy in this environment. He could definitely get used to that thought.    
Too bad Eddy wasn’t his to hold.   
Brett led them out the front door, towards the relatively neat looking garden. It couldn’t be called well kept, but it was obvious that the scenery was man-made. Large roses climbing up the fence, a stone path made to look like it was there naturally and a small marble fountain lit up with spotlights. Under a tree was a wooden garden bench, a place Brett had used to come to think before the first attempt on his life there. He had never come there after.

“Except I won’t be going to heaven, I’m the chief of all sinners it seems,” Eddy ran a hand through his hair as he tried to take in the whole scene of Brett’s garden. It was as beautiful as he thought it would be from the glimpses he caught. Maybe dying here wouldn’t be all too bad, “It’s gorgeous.”

Brett decided to ignore the first part Eddy said. He knew Eddy had a lot of blood on his hands, but to think that the sweet boy he knew from when they were kids wouldn’t go to heaven didn’t make sense to him. 

“Thank you, I had a hand in designing it,” Brett said with a small smile. “I wanted the roses, for instance.”

“Are roses some of your favorite flowers? Besides sunflowers, roses are some of my favorites,” Eddy had a strange urge to explore this new place that was shown to him. His curiosity almost clouded his thoughts of impending doom. 

“I really like it.”   
Eddy looked at Brett to see if he was allowed to stray a bit from his side so he could stick his hand in the water of the fountain or something along those lines.

“Yeah? I’m really glad to hear,” Brett smiled, looking around himself. Maybe he should hire a gardener to get it in top shape again? Maybe he could make this a spot Eddy could visit more often? It would just require a bit extra security, right? “Just look around if you want. Don’t stray too far, though, for safety reasons.”   
He had decided to protect Eddy himself if anyone tried anything, but it was so difficult to keep an eye on the trees and the fences when Eddy looked so sweet walking down the path in his garden.

Eddy smiled at Brett, this would be a perfect time to run but he didn’t. He just trotted along, looking at everything that he saw as pretty. It was all pretty really. He had seen lots of pretty gardens yet to him there was just something different about this one that made him like it more. It really was a shame that Brett couldn’t enjoy it more often.

That’s when Brett’s heart melted. At that beautiful smile. Oh these stupid feelings he had buried all those years ago. All the work to try and forget them, and Eddy pulled them out from the depths of his heart with one single smile. It was wrong to want a man who belonged to someone else, but he couldn’t help it. It was just like he became sixteen years old again when he saw that smile.

Eddy leaned down to sniff some of the roses, that’s when he heard  _ it.  _ The familiar sound of a silencer being attached to a gun - it came from his left - then a glint from the right of something reflecting off of something metal. He stood up straight, like a prairie dog on edge and ready to alert of danger. His eyes quickly flickered around, it was almost unnoticeable and would be to an untrained eye. Eddy was not untrained, he spotted all three shooters, located in a way that would put him and Brett in their inner triangle. This was an almost assured tactic to kill the target.

He took a deep breath then relaxed, maybe if they didn’t know he noticed them it could prolong his life longer.

Brett had not noticed. Brett was not trained. Brett was self taught, but not at all trained like Eddy. To him, everything was fine. He was watching a beautiful scene with the man he had loved for as long as he could remember smell the roses of his garden. It couldn’t really be much calmer to him than this.

“I didn’t think you’d do it but here we are,” Eddy whispered, quiet enough so his words wouldn’t be picked up by the hidden trio . This made running a lot harder, but maybe he could take them all out if he was careful.


	25. Garden of Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: blood, violence, gore-ish  
> (The fighting is written a bit roughly)

“Do what?” Brett asked, copying Eddy’s whispers as he spoke. They had worked together long enough for him to know that there was a reason he turned his voice down like that. He kept his eyes on Eddy, figuring someone was nearby. It would be best not to make it seem like he knew they existed.

Eddy wasn’t sure if Brett was playing dumb to spring one on him or if he actually didn’t know. He looked at Brett confused , “Aren’t you going to have me killed now?”

He squeaked quietly as his eyes shot around again. 

“N...no?” Brett stuttered, slowly realizing why Eddy would think so. Someone was definitely pointing a gun at them. “I could never.”

Eddy licked his lips, well this was kinda awkward now but death was heading both of their ways so their awkwardness wouldn’t last. He took a step closer to Brett, putting a hand on his waist as he leaned in to whisper in the man’s ear, “If you have a gun on you, give it to me. They’re in a triangular formation, if we don’t break it we’ll be in their line of fire and dead.”

Moving slowly, as to not alert the three gunmen, Brett reached into the inner pocket of his blazer to pull the gun out to hand to Eddy. He did not doubt for one second that Eddy was a better shot than him. It didn’t even occur to him to think about how close Eddy was, how nice it was to be held around his waist like that. Those were thoughts for later, if they made it out of this alive.

“I sure hope you have something bulletproof on,” Eddy carefully took the gun, he’d have to go fast on this thus he kept Brett close. He figured that these assassins had some bullet proof vests on and heavier gear, so Eddy’s goal was to disarm them as quickly as possible.

“I don’t,” Brett whispered shakily, hearing his heartbeat in his ears. At least he’d get to die in Eddy’s arms. At least he got that. It was fine, it would be fine. He was honestly more devastated that this was how Eddy’s life would end, all thanks to his carelessness.

Eddy closed his eyes, counting down to three to calm himself. He could hear the loading of their guns, the clicks of their safety turning off, and of course the pounding of his and Brett’s heart. Eddy’s eyes snapped open, at the end of three, it was go time.

Without putting out any more thought he let out three shots, turning quickly with each since he had three locations to get. Hopefully he wouldn’t miss.

Brett squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the sharp pain of the bullet, waiting for Eddy to collapse over him as he was hit. His ears were ringing now, and he just wanted it to be over. Maybe he’d meet Eddy in the afterlife? He sure wouldn’t mind that for eternity.

Eddy moved Brett with him, just manipulating him by the waist and keeping Brett close to his chest. It was almost like doing a dance, but one to avoid getting killed by the war of bullets raining down. Eddy’s shots had turned into more of a distraction to get them out of the triangle of death!

At this point, Brett just allowed himself to be tossed around like a child’s doll. He trusted Eddy, definitely more than he should have, given their situation. It was just like the old days, except it used to be the other way around. It used to be Brett pulling Eddy out of harm’s way.

“Brett, you need to get out of here,” Eddy whispered gruffly, this was about to get ugly and fast, “Hide, I can handle this.”

Seeing as the long distance hadn’t worked the three assassins emerged from their hiding spots, pulling their hand guns instead. 

Eddy could see their numbers clearly now, they were from the organization. This wasn’t particularly good for him, openly shooting at his colleagues wasn’t exactly something that looked good on his resume.

Brett took a few steps backwards, not sure if he should let Eddy deal with it alone. It wasn’t right to just leave him to fight three men on his own, but the three men were also much bigger than Brett. He knew he’d lose, especially unarmed. Of course, at this point, there was no point in hiding anywhere. Instead, he found shelter behind a large apple tree. They knew he was there, but any direct shots would be stopped by the firm trunk of the tree.

To say Eddy wasn’t scared would be a lie, he was terrified. One man vs three. He wished he had his knife so the 25 ft rule would actually be applicable. There was only one thing he could do now, run towards the danger. He could make it faster than they could pull the trigger with how fast he was running. He bolted at the one in the middle, best target for now. He would have to avoid getting shot by the other two somehow.

One hand came to the man’s mid back then the one holding the gun came to the man’s head, simultaneously pushing and pulling. The one on the mid back pulling towards Eddy then the one the forehead spiking down like one would hit a volleyball, the metal breaking the skin, blood already bubbling up from the wound. Eddy took a shot through their head then dropped down to sweep kick their legs out from under them before jumping back up. With another on the ground, his foot automatically going to their throat as he made quick work of disarming the other person’s gun.

"Mercy!" The one under him had the audacity to cry - choke - out after coming to this place, trying to massacre them. His boney hands pressed on Eddy’s ankle and foot to lift the pressure from his throat. Eddy's eyes narrowed, he could see the fear in the other’s own wide ones. Truly if he obliged there would be a knife in his back

"Beg," The one word slipped from his lips in a hiss as he dodged a punch that was aimed at his face along with his gut. It was hard to defend from attacks while controlling another's ways. The man opened his mouth to speak but even before one plea to escape, Eddy pressed his foot down harder. He reveled in the gasps of air and choking noises from his victim. That wasn't the noise he wanted to hear most though so he kept pressing, with an apologetic mock look on his face. He pressed until he heard  _ that _ sound. A loud snap under his foot, her neck was broken and windpipe damaged, there was no survival now. His focus could now be on the one still alive. This one was a bit harder, caging him in and blocking his attacks even getting him to drop Brett’s gun and landing a few jabs of his own. Eddy at this time found it best to use his forearms to block his face under the heavy rain of punches, making his bones creak with every hit. 

Brett quickly found it was impossible to move his eyes from Eddy as the threatening hiss sounded among them, and what felt like just a blink of an eye later he heard the familiar sound. It wasn’t a sound he had heard in a long while, but a sound he knew nevertheless. The sound of a bone snapping in half, or as the case was this time: The sound of one of the gunmen’s necks under Eddy’s foot.   
A moment later, Eddy had his attention on the other guy, and Brett watched as he struggled to get attacks in. He felt helpless just standing there. Surely there was something he could do despite his lack of physical strength.   
An idea popped into his mind as he saw his own gun hit the ground next to where Eddy was struggling. He quickly approached the guy Eddy previously had made a short process on with a bullet through the head and carefully took the gun out of his hands. He gagged a bit as the movement shifted the body, but he managed without puking. Next up was to figure out how this specific kind of gun worked. Before he had even finished that thought, a shot was heard and Brett knew he had accidentally fired the large gun in the direction of the struggle. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, praying he hadn’t hit Eddy. God, what would he even do if he had?

The man gave out a grunt, the stray bullet Brett had shot, enlodged in the man’s knee off chance. Which was lucky for Eddy because it made the assassin fall to the ground. Eddy immediately jumped on him.

One never thought of how hard an eye actually was, it was solid at first but then it popped until it got soft and squishy, his thumb dug deeper until he had a solid grip on their skull. Eddy’s other hand reeled back in a fist, then punched and punched and punched, every time he heard a crack. The dying screams urged him on to make the final blow. He let his thumb slide out of the beaten man’s eye socket. It was a gruesome scene displayed before them. One with a snapped neck, another with a bullet through the head and the one he was on black and blue with a sunken skull. He looked over to Brett, all blood stained and scraped up,”The threat is gone.” 

Brett’s jaw was pretty much on the ground seeing Eddy doing what he was trained to do, seeing how he was seemingly completely unaffected by the blood and the sickening sight of the dead men. It was nothing like the bullet wounds Brett had caused and seen. This was more animalistic and brutal, and even though he definitely should have been terrified of the winner of the fight, he wasn’t. Instead, he felt relief. He was so relieved Eddy had made it, the thought that Eddy had just saved his life instead of taking it like he was supposed to didn’t even cross his mind.   
“Eddy!” Brett squeaked, stumbling over to him and hugging him tightly. The fact that his suit got stained with the blood wasn’t something he had time to think about as the adrenaline made him respond directly to his feelings.

Eddy was a bit surprised by the hug but he returned it anyway, “Are you okay Brett?”

He pet the back of Brett’s head before cradling it then carding his fingers through the short shaven part, “Oh gosh, I thought we were dead!”

“I’m… yes, I’m… shit, are you… are you okay, Eddy?” Brett asked against Eddy’s chest. His breathing was somewhat laboured as his hands quickly and lightly ran over Eddy’s chest and arms to look for any damages, any scratches or wounds.

The shoulder that had been shot and roughly stitched seemed to be jabbed open while in his scuffle so that was oozing again and his nose was bleeding from the punches that resulted from the few punches that were landed to him, “I’ve had worse so I’m okay.”

Brett didn’t really think anymore at this point, he was just so overcome with joy that they both made it out okay. He reached his hand out and placed it behind Eddy’s neck pulling him down to his level. He didn’t pause for anything before pressing his lips against Eddy’s. It felt right, and he needed it like air.

Eddy’s eyes widened, he hadn’t expected this at all! What was more surprising was that he found himself kissing back. Fingers curling in Brett’s hair to keep him in place. He was still very adrenaline filled and in a rather animalistic mindset so he bit down into Brett’s bottom lip with his sharp canines.

Brett felt like he was on a cloud, honestly, high on adrenaline and every good feeling in the world shooting through him at once as he moved his lips with Eddy’s. Even the light nibble on his lip didn’t pull him out of it. It only made him want to push back and assert that he was actually in charge, and he did so by sticking his tongue out to ask for entrance into Eddy’s mouth with a cheeky lick on his lower lip. Eddy obliged willingly for now because that meant they could ravage each other's mouths with just the corpses as witnesses. Oh gosh this was so wrong but was feeling so right. Alex did give him permission to grapple, which was their code for having sex or seduction plans, so this should be fine. 

Slowly Brett came only slightly more to his senses and pulled back from the kiss with his eyes glued to Eddy’s lips. They were still slightly pink and moist, and eventually he dared to move his gaze up to meet Eddy’s. He wanted more, and after having his eyes locked to Eddy’s for a moment, he shut his and leaned in for another kiss. Eddy pressed into the kiss with the intention to deepen it right away. He lapped at Brett’s lips and chewed slightly, if Brett didn’t show who was in charge Eddy would ravage his mouth.

Brett let out a grunt against Eddy’s lips before meeting Eddy’s tongue with his and pressing it back into Eddy’s mouth. His fingers tangled into Eddy’s hair, closing around it and holding Eddy slightly back to keep him from winning this battle. It was unfair game anyway, as Eddy was much taller and larger than him.

Eddy growled as he tried to combat the attack that was taking place in his mouth but it was hard with how good Brett’s defenses were. He nudged Brett with his nose trying to catch him off guard to take over, he had a feeling Brett saw right through it.

Another grunt escaped Brett’s lips as he pressed more into the kiss, probably forcing Eddy to take a step back in the process. The hand that wasn’t still tangled into Eddy’s hair found its way to his hip, stroking the top of it. He felt the wetness of the blood on him still, but he didn’t really care. He had Eddy right there, their lips and bodies together… Who gave a shit about some blood?

Eddy moaned into Brett’s mouth, admittedly he was pretty into being manhandled in this kind of way. He eased into being a bit more submissive with the kiss but stayed active in it, languidly rolling his tongue to massage under Brett’s.

That felt good, and Brett allowed it for a bit. He’d take anything Eddy would give him at this point, but he was also desperate for more. He hadn’t had a rush of emotions like this in years, and pushing his hips forwards to get closer to Eddy felt right.

Eddy wasn’t sure if it was a gun he felt pressing against him or something else, “Hmmm.”

He pressed his hips back in retaliation to test it out and see what exactly was poking him.

Brett didn’t pull back from the amazing kiss until he heard the steps of his guards approaching and the sound of his right hand guy’s voice calling his name. Or well, not his name, but his title.   
“Boss?!” Victor half shouted, having run from the break room when he heard the shot. He was worried. Very worried.

Eddy took a step back from Brett, licking his lips slightly being quite disappointed that they were interrupted. He breathed heavily, it almost sounded like panting. His eyes shot to Victor. He was the guy that shot him. He didn’t like him.

“I’m fine, I’m… yeah, I’ll bring… the prisoner… indoors,” Brett told Victor, out of breath from the intense kiss. He looked up at Eddy for a moment before taking a hold of his arm to pull him along. He had no patience left. “Please clean up the mess here, Victor. Take as many guys as you need.”

Eddy stayed silent as he stayed by Brett’s side, he eyed the boss up and down wondering if he was having the same thoughts as him. Probably with how quickly they were going towards the doors to get out of the guards sight.

They left Victor behind as Brett pulled his so-called prisoner along towards the front door. He didn’t even care that they’d get blood all over at this point. He just needed to feel Eddy’s lips on his again.

Eddy stayed in pace with Brett, “Where are we going?”

He thought he might as well ask while he could. They were certainly rushing to somewhere but he didn’t know where.

“Bedroom, bathroom… anywhere private,” Brett responded on an exhale, opening the front door for them. “Unless you have any objections, I would like to have you now, if that’s okay with you.”

“No objections,” Eddy licked his bottom lip, looks like they would get to the fucking before one of them died. Perfect opportunity to kill Brett, when he was hot and bothered!... Although he technically just missed a really good opportunity to kill the iceman. He could have just shot him in the garden, oh shit! Why didn’t he do that, it would have been so much easier!


	26. Bathroom Bickering (nsfw)

The pair had barely stumbled into the house, nonetheless through Brett’s living room before the boss pulled his prisoner into the bathroom. The door shut behind them, and Brett locked it before pressing Eddy against it and their lips together again. His hand found one of Eddy’s and he intertwined their fingers.

Eddy could feel the sting of the wood from being pressed into the door, sending tremors up his spine, in a pleasurable way. It wasn’t fun if it wasn’t a bit rough. Now was the time to figure out how to leave Brett dead in his bathroom. With all of his other seduction victims they would never get to the good parts - because he was a loyal boyfriend - he would catch them off guard to slit their throats or strangle them. Seeing as he had no sharp objects, he’d have to strangle Brett.

It was so good to press himself against Eddy and let the desires he had for years come out. It felt like Eddy was enjoying this too judging from how he pressed back, how his lips moved with his. He ignored the fact that Eddy had a boyfriend waiting at home for him. This was a time to be selfish.

Eddy put a hand on Brett’s shoulder, slowly snaking it to the man’s throat. His thumb gently stroked over the pale skin, following the jugular to find the perfect spot to cut off all blood flow. This would be easy, not as easy as killing him in the garden but easy enough. Long fingers wrapped around their target, not yet squeezing but staying there as a silent threat. He stroked the expansion of it some more with his phantom touches before the actual squeezing began.

Brett shivered from the gentle touches, exhaling shakily. Goosebumps formed down his arms, and he pulled slightly away from the kiss with a dazed look.   
“Let’s get out of these bloody clothes,” he whispered softly, still close enough for his breath to brush over Eddy’s lips.

Eddy’s eyes focused on his hand, giving an experimental squeeze, then started to press gently, almost unnoticeable with how slow he applied pressure. Apparently Brett still hadn’t caught on that this was where he died. There was going to be no sex this is where it ended. The reign of Brett Yang would be no more. Eddy could almost pity him, Brett had trusted him so much and still did apparently and that trust led him to play right into the assassins hands. His grip got harder, not making any sign of budging. This would be the last thing the man would see. 

“How about another kiss first? Then we can get to all that fun stuff.”

He smiled a bit slyly, he already had killed three people, the murder victims kind of merged together at this point. Brett to Eddy though was different from another victim, so he would at least try to make his passing pleasant with soft kisses.

Brett didn’t even hesitate before tiptoeing slightly and pressing another soft kiss to Eddy’s pink lips. This was way better than he could ever imagine, and he had imagined it a million times over. He bravely let the tip of his tongue run over Eddy’s lower lip, not demanding just exploring. He let his hands slide down Eddy’s sides and eventually around his waist to pull him closer.

Eddy broke the kiss to press some gentle ones to Brett’s face, it was the least he could do for his once friend that didn’t even realise he was being slowly deprived of oxygen. It really was a shame he thought, the Brett Yang he had known had much to offer this world. But now he wasn’t sure, maybe it was best to wipe his kinds off the street. The illegal distribution of drugs, tearing families apart, screwing people over to wreck their lives or leaving them dead from an addiction they couldn’t pay for or fell too deeply into. This Brett Yang had nothing to offer this world, nothing but discord. While others rotted he banked off of it. Eddy justified it in his head, he knew he was guilty of two of those things, and gladly accepted that the world didn’t need an Eddy Chen but as long as he was around he would get rid of all of the other ‘scum’ and he used scum loosely because he couldn’t see Brett as such.

Brett thought the gentle kisses on his face felt nice, it felt like his dreams coming true. LIke finding the last missing piece of the puzzle.   
“I… I love you, Eddy,” Brett exhaled, still feeling Eddy’s hands rest around his neck gently. He opened his eyes slowly, tilting his head back to be able to look up and meet Eddy’s warm, brown eyes. The red of the blood from the gunmen strangely complimented the man he had loved for years beautifully, and helping him clean it off was certainly something he didn’t mind either.

Eddy released all pressure he had on Brett’s throat when he heard those words. No no no no no, he couldn’t be hearing that right. He bumped his forehead against Brett’s as his free hand came up to cradle Brett’s cheek. 

“No no, hun, you can’t love me. I tried to kill you, I left you all that time ago without staying in contact, I’ve done no good to you. You can’t love me, you shouldn’t love me,” he said in genuine concern, especially about Brett’s taste in romance because this was not where it was at. He was about to kill him again!

“I know I shouldn’t, I know your heart belongs to someone else…” Brett began, pressing a kiss to the side of Eddy’s mouth. He wasn’t really sure why he was telling him this, but it felt right. It felt necessary. “It doesn’t matter to me that you were sent to kill me, that you left me. I loved you then and I guess I just never stopped.”

Eddy felt the urge to just tell Brett no again, this shouldn’t be happening! He loved him once too, but that time was over, their ship sank with all the bitter feelings 8 years ago. Honestly he still felt bitter about it, he may have stopped loving Brett like he had but it still left pieces of him angry. Angry at himself or angry at Brett. Only if he could channel that anger right now to finish the job but something about finally hearing the words finally made the motivation disappear. 

“I know you loved me then but….” 

He wanted to lay it down on how that train already crashed and that Brett literally had no chance because one of them had to die, but couldn’t do it. Hearing the sincerity and seeing the emotion in Brett’s eyes, Eddy couldn’t crush it, “Then lets fuck like we love eachother, we did just escape death. Who knows if this will be our last chance.”

Eddy didn’t even know why he was saying that! He had no business treading in that water.

“Okay,” Brett exhaled, sneaking his hands down to Eddy’s ass and pressing a kiss on his lips again. He had no trouble forgetting the sour feelings they had all those years ago. He just felt lucky to have Eddy there now, especially in his arms like this.

Eddy quirked an eyebrow slightly, the ass touch must have meant that Brett automatically assumed he’d be the top. How typically Brett, Eddy thought, always trying to seize control. He pressed more into the kiss to get his mind off everything that was festering in him. He had lots of things he preferred not to come out. He nipped at Brett’s bottom lip, pulling back on it with a small growl.

Brett ended up trying to pull Eddy’s pants off by the back pockets without unbuttoning it. It didn’t work, and only made them sit lower on his hips. He took the opportunity to squeeze his firm buttcheeks anyway, though.

Eddy grunted slightly when Brett shamelessly groped him. Wow the elder was really going for it. He ended up breaking the kiss to show the boss how taking clothes off worked. Eddy pressed his hands to Brett’s chest, slowly trailing down to unbutton the suit jacket, then vest and finally the button down shirt. He rubbed his hands up and down with every new thing to unbutton. Finally he just slipped them all off of Brett’s shoulders so they could drop to the ground once Brett moved his arms and hands away from his ass, right now it just all hung off of his elbows. Eddy would get that to happen. He placed his hands on Brett’s hips before he dropped to his knees, nudging his nose against the very obvious boner. He mouthed at the bulge until he found the zipper, taking it between his teeth to pull it down. He wasn’t too interested in doing it sensually , he just used his hands to pull Brett’s boxers and pants down. 

He watched the heavy cock just pop up, smacking against the elders stomach. Eddy blinked owlishly, taking note of how it was actually thicker than Alex’s. Alex had an inch over Brett though, but now it was time to stop comparing both of their dick sizes. He pressed his lips against the base, whispering darkly, “I bit a man’s dick off once… heh or twice.”

“You did?” Brett half moaned, letting his clothes fall to the floor to tangle his hands into his hair. He wasn’t really worried he would do it to him. He didn’t really think Eddy could hurt him anymore after his failed attempt at killing him and all this time where he had the opportunity to. He fought the urge to push his hips forward, not wanting to be pushy.

“You’d be surprised by how many questionable flesh chunks and blood has been in my mouth. I’m almost surprised I have survived against possible blood disease.” Eddy smirked slightly, Brett was basically the only one bare right now, and Eddy was kinda okay with that. He licked a wet stripe along the underside, tracing the vein that went up it until he reached the tip. He really had no business doing this, it was flat out wrong, he wasn’t even planning on killing Brett during it anymore...Unless...

Brett moaned softly, running his hand through Eddy’s hair. It was soft, just like he had imagined, and the disheveled look he got from the gentle combing was pretty darn hot.   
“Yeah,” he answered him, sounding a bit spaced out. He was just really into how Eddy was treating his dick. “Shit, Eddy…”

"You like that huh?, “ Eddy carefully took the tip between his lips, he didn’t plan on staying down there long, just long enough to make sure Brett was slick and ready. He swirled his tongue around the tip, playing with the slit to see if Brett was into that. He knew some guys weren’t, so it was good to gage a partner's reaction.

Brett leaned back against the door with a small nod.   
“Y… yeah, but… but you’re not getting anything… from this…” he breathed, licking his lips. He pushed his hips forward slightly on instinct, but tried to keep himself from it. “I want you to feel good too.”

Eddy hummed to Brett’s thrust, it kinda helped with slicking him up and making sure he was hard. He would really have to ask about lube, he had used questionable things as lube just like questionable things in his mouth but in this situation he wanted to play it safe. As he saw it, Brett was the one that loved him so Brett should be the one to feel good. Eddy was just a weird bundle of feelings. He pulled off to communicate, “I’m guessing you plan on being the one to penetrate me, right? Then I’ll get something out of this soon enough. Speaking of that, do you have lube in here?”

“I… yeah, I thought… I’ve never done it the other way..?” Brett half asked, licking his lips. Did Eddy not want it like that? He certainly would allow the other way if that’s what Eddy wanted, but it seemed Eddy was fine with it. He decided to make sure. “If that’s okay?”   
He breathed for a bit, trying to collect his thoughts. Sure, he knew he had lube somewhere.   
“I think… uh… look in the cupboard under the sink,” he said, not really sure if it was there anymore. It had been ages since he had fucked someone needing lube, the last being some girl he had a short, purely sexual relationship with.

“Hmmm figures,” Eddy lifted a hand to smack Brett’s ass twice then turned to look for the lube under the sink where Brett had told him to look, “Yeah I’m fine with being the bottom. I like playing submissive in bed.”

It meant he didn’t have to think, in the depths of his submission his demons couldn’t touch him. He also did top for Alex, since they were switches but he was naturally a gentler one. He found the lube with relevant ease then turned back to Brett’s dick, “I’ll finger myself as I suck you unless you want to finger me?”

“You’re so pretty on your knees in front of me, I think I’ll enjoy that view a bit longer,” Brett said with a small smirk, liking the smacks to his ass, but wanting to assert his dominance. This was his house, Eddy was technically still his prisoner. He took a few steps closer to Eddy once the man had stood up, so he could place a gentle kiss to his neck and slowly stroke his hand down his chest and stomach. “Let me help you out of your stained clothes first, though.”

Eddy had almost forgotten he was bleeding in a couple places, eh it would be fine, he hoped, “Okay then Mr. Yang, lets see if you can get my pants off of me this time.”

He said teasingly to start some banter up, banter made everything better. It also took his mind off of what he was about to do. He had to keep validating himself with, “ _ Alex said it was alright so it must be alright ”,  _ it still felt questionable though since this wasn’t the sense it was meant to be in, “Also I look pretty in most positions, not just on my knees.”

Brett chuckled softly, stroking his hand over the front of Eddy’s pants before sneaking it up to his waistline and slowly opening the button with one hand. Meanwhile, he placed a kiss to his neck, wanting to mark him. Not that he was his to mark, but to have some physical proof of their intimate encounter. He’d come back to that later.

“You’re right, you always look pretty, but on your knees in front of me is not something I’ve seen much before,” Brett purred softly, breathing down the side of Eddy’s neck. “We should make a habit of it.”

“If you’re a good boy towards me, maybe I’ll reward you with blow jobs. Favors for favors?” Eddy knew quite well that favors as currency could get him places. Maybe even a free ticket to freedom. It never hurt to try if Brett was willing to play this little game with him. He had six days left and he couldn’t waste it dilly dallying.

“Have I not been treating you well, hm? Have I not been good to you?” Brett asked in a low, almost threatening tone. He bit Eddy’s neck gently and pressed his hand to the front of his pants. “Do you prefer the handcuffs, hm?”

Eddy groaned slightly, Brett was never a push over even when they were younger, he should have known the man wouldn’t be so manipulatable. 

“Maybe I’m into that kind of stuff,  _ Brett _ .”

He purred his name to rile him up as much as he could. Eddy was in this deep, he might as well have fun with it.

Brett let a growl sound from the back of his throat upon hearing Eddy say his name like that. There was something animalistic about his need to have him now, rather than loving.    
“I’ll make sure to cuff you up when you get back to your room, then,  _ Edward, _ ” he almost spat back at him, pulling Eddy’s trousers down in a quick and forceful way after he had spoken. “If you like it that much.”

“And we’ll see how long that will hold me,  _ Sir  _ ,” Eddy kept his tone smooth like glass to hide how appealing the display of Brett’s pure fucking instinct was. It was bad enough that they were both willingly fucking, he didn’t need the prince of crime to know that he was actually into this. Basically begging to be broken, controlled and taken. 

At this point, Brett wasn’t really thinking anymore. He needed Eddy and he needed him  _ now.  _ He pulled Eddy’s underwear down, taking him in hand without even bothering to get his clothes completely off.   
“You bet I’ll make sure there’s no escaping those cuffs,” he hissed, pressing an almost forceful kiss to Eddy’s lips as he gently massaged Eddy’s dick by running his thumb up and down the top of it. “Even if I have to hold you down myself.”

Eddy freely moaned this time, his dick definitely jumping up in interest with the depths of Brett’s done then of course that calloused hand massaging him in all the right ways. How could he not moan? 

“Hold me down yourself ai? Do you really think  **you** could over power  **me** ?” Eddy snatched both of Brett’s wrists, his hands enclosing around their dainty form as he took a step forward to tower over the shorter male, “Or do you think keeping a dick in me would satisfy my bloodlust? I’m insatiable, little kitten.”

He may have enjoyed being the submissive but he sure as hell was going to make Brett work for it, right now he was defiant and needed some discipline, perhaps. 

“Did I not hold you down in the hallway, hm? You think you’re so big and strong, but I still caught you,” Brett shot back, not allowing Eddy to dominate him just by being larger. As Eddy was holding his hands, he decided to reach his leg out to gently rub his knee against Eddy’s exposed dick. “I don’t need muscles to know I’m in charge.”

Eddy pressed his lips to Brett’s ear as he rutted against the shorter’s leg, it was given to him so he’d take it. 

“I’m not just bigger and stronger, I’m quicker, more trained, more observant and the list goes on. Need I remind you who won our sparring match? Me. And I wasn’t using my strength but your own screw ups against you, it also takes wits,” He whispered huskily from where he pressed his lips, even having the audacity to nip at Brett’s ear lobe and pull. Brett could think he was in control but Eddy knew - liked to believe - that it was actually him. 

“I don’t think you’re in charge of me, I’m not your mutt anymore. In fact I’ve been running pretty rampant without you, sinking my fangs into anyone who comes my way.”

Eddy nipped at Brett’s jaw just to show that he was a biter. 

Brett loved the touches of Eddy’s lips on his ear, his teeth on his ear lobe and his jaw. It would be a lie to say otherwise, but the need to prove he wasn’t letting Eddy push him around made him stay quiet about it.

“Cute, but you’re hardly a puppy in my eyes,” he snickered, kissing him quickly. He was still rubbing his leg against Eddy’s dick as Eddy was still holding his wrists. “How about you get your beautiful lips around my dick and get yourself ready to get it in your ass later?”

“Make me, “ Eddy hottily whispered, he let go of Brett’s wrists to give him a fair chance when it came to manhandling him. He’d play along for now but he still needed that little push before letting Brett just boss him around, “Heh, only a pup. You saw what I did to those men outside, I could dismember you in an instant and I don’t think you want to test that theory.”

He hooked his thumb into Brett’s mouth, pushing it past his lips, to slip into the cheek. It was a bit salty. Eddy lifted Brett’s lips slightly to see his teeth, he was literally asserting himself just to be a brat.

Brett hissed at him and bit down on Eddy’s thumb, not hard enough to draw blood but hard enough for it to hurt and for it to be difficult to just pull his finger out. Then he used what he had of body weight to push Eddy back against the bathroom door, still not letting the grip on Eddy’s thumb go. His hand found Eddy’s dick again, figuring that would be the weak point he had to work with here. Finally, he let Eddy’s thumb go to speak.   
“Don’t mess with me, Chen,” he said in a firm, low voice. The grip on Eddy’s dick tightened. “Don’t think I won’t choke it to get my way, I only need your ass to satisfy my needs.”

Eddy hissed, he didn’t know how the spartans could go into battle with their dicks out, it seemed so troublesome especially when someone got a hold of it.

“That’s if you even know how to use someone’s ass properly,  _ Yang. _ ”

This wasn’t exactly fucking like they loved eachother but he kinda liked this more than all that lovey dovey shit, they weren’t lovers. They were the moon and the ocean, constantly pushing and pulling each other without ever being able to be together. This wasn’t love, it was lust, it was manipulation, seeing who would break first.

“Which is why I’m giving you the opportunity to prepare your pretty ass yourself so I won’t destroy it,” Brett said in a sugary sweet tone, taking a hold of Eddy’s face with his available hand. The other was still holding firmly onto Eddy’s dick. “I assume you’d prefer that.”   
His eyes narrowed as he locked his gaze to Eddy’s, daring him to say otherwise.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Eddy said through his teeth, he wouldn’t even let Brett wreck his ass, he preferred to keep it intact. Tearing was something he didn’t want to go through again, it was awful, “I’ll do it.”

He decided that he really didn’t want to risk it, he thought it was just a bluff but honestly he didn’t know Brett that much anymore so he didn’t know what kind of lines the elder was actually willing to cross.

“Good boy,” Brett praised with a smirk, letting his face go. He still hadn’t let the hand on Eddy’s dick go, but he loosened the grip slightly so he could stroke it with his thumb again. “You may also pleasure me with your pretty little mouth while you’re at it. As a privilege.”

“It will be my honor,” Eddy spat at him, he was going to bite Brett, maybe not his dick off but the man’s thigh would suffice for now, “I think you’ll have to let go of my dick so I can suck your dick.”

He rolled his hips forward with a slight groan. He didn’t hate it, on the contrary, the bickering and the threats were kind of nice. It made this dangerous.

Brett did as Eddy said, letting his dick go to allow him to move so he could finally put his mouth to good use.   
“Be good and I’ll be nice to you after,” he purred, pressing a quick kiss to Eddy’s lips. He wasn’t sure he’d want to after.

Eddy languidly kissed Brett back, there weren't any hard feelings with what they were saying or doing right now. Maybe just a small fear of the fake threats not being a threat. He nipped the man’s bottom lip, “We’ll see how well I behave depending on how tight of a leash you hold.”

He purred before sinking down to his knees, he was still a cheeky bastard, even when Brett supposedly won. 

First he re-grabbed the lube bottle he found then carelessly discarded, he had the feeling this was going to get rough so he was going to prepare and stretch himself well.

Brett ran his fingers carefully through Eddy’s hair with a small smile.   
“I’ll be nice if you are nice,” he said softly. Then he took a slightly firmer grip on Eddy’s bangs. “But if you misbehave, I’ll punish you. Understood?”

“I look forward to it,  _ sir _ ,” Eddy pursed his lips, he was now definitely going to prepare himself first before biting Brett, but he didn’t forget that was what he wanted to do. Brett wasn’t going to leave this bathroom unmarked. He popped the bottle open, pouring a generous amount on his fingers to get his show on the road, “It would be my honor for you to fuck my mouth.”

He pressed his lips against the tip before opening his mouth as an invitation for Brett to thrust right in and take what he wanted.

“Good boy,” Brett exhaled, slowly pushing himself inside Eddy’s mouth. He liked how Eddy called him sir. It made him feel powerful. “Don’t take too long preparing, I want your ass more than I want your pretty little mouth.”

Eddy reached his hand behind him, quick prep what a joke, he rather not bleed more than he already was because of the horny bastard above him. He huffed, letting the warm air hit Brett’s bare skin. It would still be wise to heed the warning, however, he needed to do it efficiently and well. If it hurt he’d just elbow Brett in the gut or ask kindly for him to stop. It was hard to know what was to come when they hadn’t discussed hard no’s or safe words or anything. This Could go very wrong in multiple ways, especially if neither of them knew the line. Was there even a line? They were already high levels of fucked up.

Brett moved his hips slowly to let his dick glide in and out of Eddy’s mouth. He wasn’t interested in cumming like this. He wanted to be with Eddy properly like he had dreamed of a million times over. There wasn’t much he wanted more than that, really, except maybe to have Eddy all to himself. No Alex or anyone else in the way, just him and Eddy against the world. Kind of like it used to be, but with no distractions.   
Eddy bobbed his head in time with Brett’s movements to help create a good feeling. Oh it was so tempting to pull off and make a snide comment but he refrained from disobedience for now. Right now he had to focus on wiggling his first finger in, he had circled his finger around the rim until he felt it relax then dared to press his finger inside. He had done this many times, it was basically muscle memory by now. He moaned around the warm cock that was just kinda there taking its good old time. He finally got bored with the slow pace and pushed all the way down on Brett’s dick to deep throat him, if Brett wasn’t going to do it, he’d do it for him. His nose was now pressed against the elder’s pubic bone, his cheeks hollowed to suck hard and his tongue flattened. Eddy lifted his free hand to fondle the boss’s balls, massaging them as he pleased.

Brett gasped, not expecting that at all, and bent over slightly from the pleasure it caused.   
“Fuck, Eddy…” he moaned, his jaw dropping lose. It took every ounce of strength he had to firmly pull Eddy off by the hair. He couldn’t let Eddy take control like that. “Shit, Eddy, you’re too goddamn good at that…”

Eddy grunted up at him, if it was so good why did Brett stop him? He squeezed Brett’s balls a bit, not being all too pleased that he was pulled off of Brett’s cock. He liked dick, what could he say.

“Cock,” Was what he had to say about it because he wanted to get back to what he was doing, he stuck his tongue out to lick the tip.

“I wanna get as far as inside you,” Brett informed him on an exhale, combing his fingers through his hair. “Which won’t happen if you make me cum in your mouth. You want me to fuck you properly, right?”   
He sure hoped that. He wasn’t about to force himself onto Eddy.

Eddy pouted up at him because it really seemed Brett wasn’t going to budge on letting Eddy deepthroat him. He licked his lips as he added a second finger, he probably needed to answer the elder’s question, “Yes I want your big fat cock in me, fucking me properly.”

“Good, then let’s make sure we get there instead of shooting in your mouth,” Brett sighed, a bit relieved that Eddy confirmed he wanted this as well. He reached down to stroke Eddy’s cheek gently. It was strange to think about in this situation, but Eddy really was beautiful with his high cheekbones and pink lips. Not even to mention how he could drown in his warm eyes. “You’re a good boy.”

Eddy tilted his head to nuzzle into the soft hand stroking him, it felt nice. He gasped slightly as his fingers found the bundle of nerves that made sex 10 times more pleasurable when stimulated. Yes the prostate could work miracles, although he felt weird about being the only one moaning at the moment. He was basically masturbating with Brett watching, which was really new but still.

“You feeling good?” Brett asked sweetly, still stroking his cheek. He wanted this experience to be a good one for Eddy, selfishly because he wanted Eddy to enjoy being with him. He wanted Eddy to see past the way they had ended up together here and love him like he loved Eddy. 

“Yeah,” Eddy closed his eyes as he pressed his face more to Brett’s hand to get over the insecurity of freely moaning while pleasuring himself. He began to scissor his fingers since actually stretching himself was more important than playing with himself.

“You’re so beautiful, Eddy,” Brett complimented, but was really just speaking from his heart. Sure, it was hot seeing Eddy pleasure himself on his knees in front of him, and it was exciting to get to assert his dominance over him, but what Brett really wanted was a tiny piece of what he imagined heaven to be like. He imagined heaven to be as close to Eddy as humanly possible.

Eddy didn’t know why Brett was becoming so sweet to him again, where was the banter, the roughness or the assertion of dominance. It was a bit confusing to him, not exactly what he wanted either, if it continued on this path it would make him feel things that he shouldn’t be feeling.


	27. The Sound of the Unloved (nsfw)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Choking

Ever so slowly he slipped his fingers from himself, “Fuck me.”

He opened his eyes to look directly into Brett’s, he was ready.

“Let’s get in the shower so I can scrub you clean while we’re at it,” Brett said, encouraging Eddy to stand up by lightly yanking his hair so they could get in the shower. He really wanted Eddy now.

There we go, the roughness Eddy was expecting from this, he smiled to the hair yank before standing up, actually getting out of his boots and stepping out of his pants while he did. He’d have to take his shirt off too so they could shower. 

Brett snuck his hands around Eddy’s waist under his shirt for a moment, tiptoeing up to kiss him. His dick rubbed lightly against Eddy’s as he did, sending shivers down his spine.

Eddy couldn’t help but roll his hips forward to grind gently against Brett’s to get a more intense feeling out of it. He leaned down to finally join their lips together and so Brett wouldn’t have to do all the work.

The soft skin on Eddy’s back felt nice under Brett’s fingertips as he pushed the shirt up to eventually be able to pull it off once they broke the kiss. He wasn’t ready for that yet, though, and it ended up turning into him lightly running his nails up and down Eddy’s back while they kissed.

Eddy hummed to that, back scratches felt nice, he would like those any day of the week. He closed his eyes, as he relaxed into the kiss and the sensation on his back. Maybe it wasn’t all too bad that Brett was being sweet with him again, his back sure thought it was nice. He put his hands on the elder’s side then one flat on his chest.

Brett was eventually the one to pull away from the kiss to carefully pull Eddy’s bloody shirt off. Once he could, he touched his lips to the bare skin between Eddy’s nipples and ran his hands down Eddy’s sides. He had always liked Eddy’s body, and getting to feel it under his hands like this was a great pleasure in itself.

Eddy blinked his eyes open to watch Brett, he on the other hand wasn’t as fond of his own body. It was littered in too many scars and indivets for his liking. His poor skin had seen a lot in his work field, so it was kinda strange to see such affection in Brett’s eyes. He had only seen Alex give him that look, one of serenity and pure admiration. 

Brett glanced at the number on Eddy’s chest, reaching up to trace it with a fingertip. Branded like cattle.   
“You’re beautiful, Eddy,” Brett whispered, pressing another kiss on Eddy’s chest. “Let’s get you all cleaned up, and my dick inside your beautiful ass.”

Eddy furrowed his brows slightly, not exactly sure how to respond to the compliments, saying just no he wasn’t probably wasn’t appropriate, “Thank you.”

He said instead, it was a safe answer. He shuffled towards the shower since they were fucking there anyways.

Brett got his glasses off and put them aside. Then he shut the shower doors behind them and turned the water on. It wasn’t long before it was warm, as he had it built so he wouldn’t have to wait long for hot water. There were some perks with having a lot of money.   
“You may have to bend down a bit, I haven’t become taller since we were kids,” he chuckled softly, sneaking an arm around Eddy’s hips as the water poured down on them.

Eddy watched the shower floor turn red with mostly his own blood. He glanced at Brett with a small smile,"Or we could get you a small step stool."

He took a deep breath in and out to ease himself.

“Or you need to watch your words, fricking skyscraper,” Brett chuckled softly, gently caressing Eddy’s hip. It was nice and intimate to just be in the shower together like this. “You can bend down if you want it. Or stand with your legs further apart, I don’t care.”

“I suppose this means that you want to do it from the back?” Eddy pursed his lips as he quirked an eyebrow down at the more petite man. He kinda figured that’s how they would be doing it anyways because it appeared they were going to have sex standing up and he knew there was no way Brett could pick him up and fuck him...unless Brett had been secretly working out. From the looks of it, he hadn’t been. They probably would have more options if on the ground.

“I don’t see any other way..?” Brett asked, reaching up to caress Eddy’s cheek. He wanted to see Eddy’s face, but he realized logically that it likely wouldn’t work. “Unless we sit down?”

“We’d have more options if we sat down, but I’m okay with being fucked into the wall,” Eddy shrugged, he was perfectly fine with not seeing Brett’s face. He didn’t want to see the elder looking at him with  _ those  _ eyes. Filled with unwarranted love and affection, things Eddy didn’t deserve from the man in front of him. Part of him couldn’t stand it. Most people desired to be loved, Eddy was no exception but he didn’t want Brett’s love, he’d much rather prefer to receive his hate, his condemnation, his punishment. That was what he desired, because it was what he deserved.

“Let’s sit down on the floor, I want to see your eyes,” Brett said, tiptoeing up to kiss him again. To just get to kiss him like this was wonderful, and his seventeen year old self would probably be the happiest guy alive just getting that. Brett was pretty sure he hadn’t felt this lucky before, but to say he was happy getting to fuck Eddy while he was still with someone else would be an overstatement. “I want to be able to kiss you as you cum.”

There was a duality in Eddy, a sick part that wanted to crush Brett then the other side that wanted to preserve Brett’s loving innocence that couldn’t read the scenario of what actually was going on. He nodded slightly to just go with it, maybe it would help him escape his scattered brain for a bit. His main hope was that it would be a distraction from the venom that threatened to slip through his teeth. How one man could stay so bitter despite having someone they loved at home was a mystery. Eddy had been through some shit with Brett, then some after Brett, and some traumas never really healed, just built their home in him, waiting for the worst times to pop out or threaten to explode. 

“If on the floor, I can ride you then.”

“Sounds hot,” Brett smiled, trailing kisses down Eddy’s neck and chest as he slowly went down into a sitting position. His hands slid down Eddy’s sides as well the entire way down. Then he patted on his thighs. “Come sit on me, beautiful.”

If only Brett had known what was going through Eddy’s head, he wouldn’t keep on calling him beautiful, so Eddy thought. He was as ugly on the outside as he was on the inside, torn up without much clarity left. Only Alex had the right to call him beautiful or anything else that was good because they had stuck it out together, saw how monstrous the other could be but despite that still loved one another. Brett didn’t know how much of a monster he was, not yet.

Eddy shook his head to get those thoughts out of them before he sank down, crawling into Brett’s lap, “I’ll try to make it good for you.”

“Thank you, Eddy,” Brett purred, pushing his nose up the side of Eddy’s neck trying to judge where he’d mark him. He needed the physical proof of this, he needed the confirmation that this wasn’t just a dream. Once he found a patch of soft skin that seemed unmarked previously, he sucked down on it. He wanted it to be a mark of possession, but he knew it couldn’t be. A mark as proof would have to do. 

Eddy mewled to the sucking, he’d let Brett have his fun for now. He, however, had more ambitious goals. The younger grabbed the base of the thick shaft as he lifted his hips ever so slightly to perfectly align with the blunt tip. This was just sex so he was going to get on with it. He teased Brett by rubbing against it, feigning to press it inside before completely removing himself. Eddy knew Brett wanted this bad, making him so much easier to tease. With what seemed to be another fake attempt, Eddy slammed himself down on the length, quite literally swallowing Brett’s cock whole. He let out a loud, sinful moan. 

Brett let his head fall backwards to rest against the wall and allowed a choked moan to escape. Eddy’s insides felt so nice, so much tighter than any of the girls he had slept with since Eddy left, and the sound of Eddy’s moan aroused him to no end. His hands found Eddy’s hips to keep him in place long enough for him to come slightly back down from the clouds.   
“Ah, Eddy…!” he breathed, looking up at him with a dazed look. How lucky wasn’t he, to get to be with this beautiful man like this? “I…God…”

Eddy smirked at him for a second before his lips fell into an O shape because he was moaning again. The assassin set up a brutal pace from the start, pulling up until Brett’s dick almost slipped out then slammed back down to only bounce back up. He had a pattern, up, down, Up down , grind, up, down, up down, grind and he followed it to a T. Every hard bounce trying to get the point across to Brett that this was just sex. 

“You’re so tight…” Brett gasped, running his hands up and down Eddy’s sides. God, he loved this man. He loved the feeling of his ass on his dick, he loved running his fingers over his scarred skin, he loved the whole of him as he placed a hand behind Eddy’s neck to pull him into another kiss. He loved Eddy’s lips on his. This ruined a bit of Eddy’s pattern but he was satisfied with prolonging his grinding to move his lips against Brett’s. He bit down on the man’s bottom lip before swiping his tongue over it. He wasn’t about to make this kiss soft and sweet, it wouldn’t go with everything else that he was doing. It would give Brett the wrong idea most definitely and probably himself...

“I love you, Eddy,” Brett whispered as a hot breath against Eddy’s lips once they broke the kiss, refusing to move further away than a few centimeters. His eyes were dazed as they slowly opened to look up at Eddy, hoping to hear it back but not thinking he would.

Eddy’s eyes avoided Brett’s, never had those words felt like they did to him now. He has felt patronized by declarations of love, manipulated, actually loved - duh Alex - but never like this. It felt like someone was burning him, or twisting a knife into his gut. It physically hurt now to hear Brett say it again. He picked up the pace but rougher this time, as if he could escape the fire he felt raging through his body. Brett couldn't love him, Brett shouldn’t love him.

Brett let his hand run down Eddy’s cheek, ending up under his chin to cup his face carefully. He could feel the slow build of the orgasm, but all he could think about was how grateful he was that Eddy didn’t hate him after being the reason his life was falling apart, after having fucked up all those years ago and causing him to leave.   
“I love you,” he said again, wrapping his arms around Eddy’s waist to pull him into a kind of awkward hug as Eddy kept trying to move and make them both feel good. Brett needed to feel good in a different way right now, and he tried to get that from Eddy.

Eddy didn’t dare look at Brett, this was unsafe territory. The sirens in his head were going off, they might as well have been fire engines because everything was burning. He hated those words, no he despised them! Specifically despising them coming from Brett, the man didn’t know him anymore, didn’t know what he had been through and now he couldn’t even escape those thoughts because of the weird hug prohibiting his movement. This was bad.

Eventually, Brett did manage to slow Eddy down enough to hug him more properly. It still felt like a forced hug, but Brett would take anything that felt vaguely like love from Eddy in his moment of vulnerability. He pressed his nose into the side of Eddy’s neck and squeezed his eyes shut.   
“I love you.”

Something in Eddy’s eyes snapped, just like something had inside of him, not that Brett could see either. The hug was broken harshly by Eddy’s hands shoving Brett by the shoulders, back into the shower’s tiled wall. His eyes were like fire, burning his irises and anything else that crossed its path, “SHUT UP!”

His voice boomed, it was like it wasn’t even Eddy. 

“STOP SAYING THAT!”

It was a strained shout. In desperation both hands shot up, wrapping around the elder’s neck. He had to make him quiet to end this pain. To end what was eating him alive from the inside out. 

The air was knocked out of Brett when his back hit the wall behind him. He didn’t have time to react to the surprising move before Eddy’s large hands rested heavily against his neck. It was unpleasant, and the adrenaline burned through him as he looked up at Eddy with large, frightened eyes. Never had he expected such a reaction, and yet there was only one thing he could think of to say in what could possibly be his last moment before he was taken away by Eddy’s hands.   
“I love you,” he mouthed as a few tears formed in the corners of his eyes. He had misjudged Eddy’s intentions, and now he was paying for it.

One hand released Brett’s throat but the other stayed quite present, it didn’t lessen the pressure or add more to it. His free hand balled up into a fist, pounding it on Brett’s chest, not hard enough to break anything but hard enough to leave bruising, “Stop saying that! You shouldn’t love me!”

The burst of rage seemed to flicker out of his eyes, there was still anger there, yes, but it had a mix of confusion and distress. Eddy didn’t even know what he was doing, he only knew that Brett in the moment was the cause of the anguish. The remaining hand on Brett’s throat trembled almost uncontrollably, “ You shouldn’t, you shouldn’t.”

He shook his head as he repeated that like a mantra, there were too many voices in his head!

On instinct, Brett reached up to try and remove the hand on his neck as it was getting difficult to breathe. He wasn’t sure if he minded the dizziness sneaking up on him at this point, if this was the reaction Eddy had to his declaration of love. He had spent so long fighting those feelings, and he wasn’t sure he would be able to hide them away anymore after all this.

Eddy slumped forward to rest his forehead on Brett’s chest, “Stop loving me, I’m no good. No good, shouldn’t love me.”

The rage was gone, just broken sentences from a broken person that wasn’t consciously aware of what he was doing, “No good.”

Brett wasn’t scared anymore. Everything felt rather peaceful, and the ringing in his ears drowned out Eddy’s sad words.

“I love…” Brett mouthed, but no sound would come out as the curtain fell for Brett. The darkness took over and the last thing he felt was his forehead limply hit the back of Eddy’s wet hair.


	28. Bitter Traumas

It hurt. He had a thundering headache, but it lasted only a few seconds before he drew in air, immediately coughing. Breathing burned in his throat. A bright light burned his eyes as they flickered, trying to open to look around. His eyelids were too heavy yet. He tried to remember what had happened, but just thinking hurt.

Bathroom. That’s where he was. Or… Was he? He made another attempt to open his eyes, this time noticing the source of the bright light. It was the sun coming in through his bedroom window. Why was his bedroom window in the bathroom?   
He let out a groan, but it was immediately followed by another coughing fit. Of course, he must have moved to his bedroom. How?

The weight on his eyelids finally lifted and he slowly let them open, squinting from the bright light. His head still had the shadow of a headache going, and every breath felt like he was breathing through a straw. He coughed again. He was so sure he had been in the bathroom just a moment ago…

Eddy let go of Brett's hand when he heard the man finally wake with his gasping breaths, oh thank the gods Brett was okay. He stood up from where he was sitting by the bed just crying against Brett's hand. He knew he was fucked up but not this fucked up. 

Eddy propped Brett's pillows up behind him whilst helping him up,"Don't move too much...I got you water."

His voice was deathly raw, and his hands were shaky even when grabbing the glass of water to hopefully help Brett's throat, "And an Aspirin."

He was lucky that he could get most of this stuff from the bathroom.

Brett opened his mouth to ask what he was doing there, but it just turned into a new round of coughing. He tried to move to sit up more, but he felt incredibly weak. Where was Victor? Inu? Why was Eddy taking care of him?

Eddy sat on the bed, trying to help Brett more while sitting. He held the water and aspirin out to the man really trying to fix this. He was an awful person, who the hell did that to someone because of a love confession!? There was something wrong with him, insanely wrong. He needed to stay away from Brett to protect the man from himself, which he never thought would happen but apparently it did.

“Wh… where…?” Brett asked hoarsely, but was interrupted again by a new round of coughing that made his eyes tear up. It hurt to try and speak, causing him to cough which only hurt more. He pushed the water and aspirin away, not sure why he was being offered that. Why was he like this at all? He couldn’t really remember. Wasn’t he in the downstairs bathroom just now?

Eddy worried his bottom lip between his teeth, this was all his fault, he caused this. 

"Shhh shhh, just drink the water and take the aspirin and I'll tell you everything…"

He licked his lips anxiously trying not to have a meltdown, Brett was the one who was hurt, he had no business crying about it, "I uuuh… I'm sorry… so sorry."

He couldn't collect his thoughts properly.

Brett didn’t understand what the hell Eddy was talking about, but accepted the aspirin and the water anyway. He didn’t even bother to check if the aspirin was actually aspirin before swallowing it and handing Eddy the glass back with a very shaky hand. Another cough fit came over him as he took a breath after swallowing everything.

"I kinda strangled you in the bathroom…." Eddy closed his eyes, why had he done that, "You kept telling me you loved me while we uh um f-fucked… I I j-just snapped… I didn't mean too.."

He didn't know how someone didn't mean to strangle someone else , but he didn't want this, he didn't want this.

What…? Brett blinked a few times. Oh yeah, he remembered now. He remembered the feeling of Eddy’s large hand on his neck, how he had struggled to breathe, how everything had gone dark. What did he mean he didn’t mean to, though? Wasn’t that the point? Wasn’t he there to kill him anyway? He lifted his hand slowly, touching the side of his neck. It was covered in bandages, which only made him more confused.

"I don't think you should be around me, I'm dangerous and unstable… what if I didn't sober up, you'd be dead… I can't do that, " Now that he saw the fear in Brett's eyes and him fading away he knew he didn't want to be the one to kill Brett. More like he couldn’t be the one to kill Brett.

Eddy fidgeted with the glass as he started to cry, "You gotta get rid of me, off me so I can't hurt anyone else… or let me go. I don't want to hurt you anymore."

He didn't want to do this anymore. Eddy quit, he was throwing in the towel.

“Shut up,” Brett wheezed, squeezing his eyes shut as he coughed up his lungs. Or, that’s how it felt at least. He didn’t want to hear Eddy talk himself down like that. So what if Eddy didn’t love him? So what if he had tried to kill him? It shouldn’t be surprising anyway, he knew that was his job.

Eddy shut his mouth letting the tears spill freely, the least he could do was be obedient and listen. He felt awful, beyond awful really. He watched Brett wearily, why couldn't the man just understand that he was in danger! Eddy was dangerous, he was trained to be loveless and to be a killer above all. No other identity but a murderer. His and Alex's relationship on its own was out of the norm but maybe it was because they went through some of the same stuff.

Brett tried to catch his breath after the repeated coughing, reaching up with a shaky hand to wipe the tears that had formed.

“It’s okay that you don’t love me,” he pressed out before succumbing to another cough attack. He wanted to say something more, but couldn’t.

"It's not that..." Eddy squeaked out as he looked away, everything swirling in his mind. His mind was everywhere trying to find the right words or what he was even trying to express. 

"..I used to…" he wasn't making this better, but everything was just so scattered and he was just so confused. Too many voices, too many demons, everything wasn't right with him.

"I'm no good, stop loving me, you shouldn't love me…"

He expressed the same phrases he used while having his violent meltdown. His brain was wired in such a way that it couldn't be healthy, example A would be Brett almost dying from just being vulnerable.

Brett winced upon hearing Eddy’s words. The same words he had used while choking the life out of him earlier. They brought back images of what had happened.   
“Shut up,” he whispered again, this time only coughing once or twice after. “I fucking love you. Stop.”

Eddy wanted to insist to Brett that he just couldn't love him, so he did. It was wrong, how could Brett love him, "I almost killed you, you can't… You don't know what I've been through, you don't know how messed up I am, I'll only destroy you, please stop loving me I beg, I don't deserve it."

This wasn't healthy, he knew it wasn't, so why should he even encourage such feelings.

“If I could, don’t you think I would have years ago?” Brett asked, still whispering as he couldn’t make his voice work without coughing. It was exhausting to speak, though, even the whispers. “You’re still Eddy.”

"You almost died because of me!? How can you still love me," This distressed Eddy, he shouldn't be forgiven for this, he shouldn't be loved. A near death experience was pretty much a red flag, "I'm so fucked up." 

“It doesn’t matter,” Brett sighed, coughing a few times again. He tried to sit up properly, but everything felt really heavy. Instead, he tried to turn his head to look at Eddy, wincing again as the bandages tightened on his bruised neck.

Eddy put a hand to Brett's chest to keep him still, he looked at him with immense worry. Worry for multiple different reasons, "Brett it matters. If a guy choked me out because I said I liked him, would you advise me to be with him? No, because it's not safe. "

He said softly but seriously, he had to protect Brett. He just had to.

“You wouldn’t be with me anyway, it wouldn’t matter,” Brett whispered, taking Eddy’s hand between his. “Not like that anyway. Don’t worry, I won’t say it anymore. You won’t know.”

"That's not the point, you shouldn't be around me" Eddy looked at Brett sadly then bowed his head, he really didn't know how he felt, "I...I hurt you. Not just a little bit either. I hurt you a lot."

He closed his eyes to focus on his breathing, he needed to be calm. This was about Brett not him.

He really must have had something against the elder, because he never reacted so terribly to Alex. Except maybe that one time he kicked Alex in the face the first time they tried to have sex. Or it was something else making him act up. On second thought he did have something against the elder, a lot actually… He had just buried it down for so long that he had almost forgotten but it reared its ugly head, ripping out of his chest in a rage.

“I can take it, I’m fine,” Brett exhaled, trying not to cough as he did. He didn’t think it was possible for him to stop loving Eddy anyway, so why try to? “Do whatever you want to me.”

"Don't say things like that..." Eddy squeaked, okay at least he wasn't the only fucked up one here. He leaned down, resting his cheek on Brett's clothed chest then hugged the smaller male, "It's not too late for you, you can get help… your 'love' shouldn't put you in danger."

It was almost comedy gold hearing this from Eddy, but it took one to know one.

He had his first boyfriend that almost broke his jaw and busted his nose pretty badly, and he knew he wasn't completely mentally stable, so he could say that Brett definitely needed help, if this didn't make him budge and he was okay with being hurt.

“Shut up,” Brett sighed, hugging Eddy back. He didn’t want solutions to this. He didn’t care what happened, because he was slowly realizing that Eddy didn’t want to be with him like that, that Eddy was taken by someone else. And honestly, he was pathetic enough to let himself be pulled under by that. He just needed to understand what the hell had happened, as it seemed Eddy wanted him just a few hours earlier. Or was it hours? “Why did you want to have sex with me then? Why would you make me think I mattered to you when you didn’t want that?”

Eddy figured that it would be best to leave out the detail of his original murder plan of just killing him in the doorway, that probably wouldn't blow over too well considering his apparent bipolar choice making. He also made mental note of not saying how he thought of using his body as a bargaining chip to be set free. There were reasons besides the bloody ones and the ones for his own personal gain though.

"The first time you said 'I love you' it caught me off guard because I knew between us that ship had already burnt a long time ago, for multiple reasons and I wanted to tell you that. But I knew it might have been a last chance to be close to you like that, because unlike you I know one of us is going to leave here dead. It's not a feel good fairy tale with a happy ending. So I thought that in the moment I could make you feel good. I didn't think I'd snap or that you'd keep pushing for that ‘I love you’ back. I just wanted to give you a good time before this inevitably comes to an end. I thought it was the least I could do because you do matter to me."

Eddy spoke quietly, he only had six days left and he was choosing to no longer go for Brett's throat, he knew it would be him to die. The organization would come get him, then put him down for his failure and disobedience. Despite that, in a fucked up sort of way he did care for Brett, he wanted to give him the best of deaths possible by his hands and protected him from the other assassins. Maybe selfishly he just wanted to be close to someone as of now. 

“If it’s going to be one of us anyway, why didn’t you just press a bit harder? You’d be done with this problem already,” Brett asked, letting Eddy’s hand go with a sigh. This whole thing just made him sad. He was the reason Eddy wasn’t home with the man he loved, the reason he was unhappy and felt conflicted. Why was it so hard for him to just end it all? He had the opportunity multiple times. “You’ve been alone with me a lot, you’ve had a ton of opportunities.”

"Because I just can't do it, okay! I've killed hundreds upon hundreds of people but you're not like the other targets. You were my friend, my best friend, the person I loved first, the person I relied on or turned to, my safe place, my protector. I might have left you but I never forgot you. How could I forget all of that and just reduce you to another number and blurry face?

You want to know the real reason I was assigned to you? The organization sent me here to kill you because they like taking away the things I care about because it puts me one step closer to becoming barely human, just a weapon. I won't be surprised if they send Alex here to shoot me for failing, then killing both of us because he wouldn't do that. 

I can't kill you because I have too many good memories along with the bitter ones that still haunt me, I just can't do it," Eddy wished they hadn't ended up like this, he was pretty sure he was going insane if not already. He felt pretty crazy sometimes.

Brett grabbed Eddy and pulled him into a proper hug. It sounded like he needed it.   
“Okay. It’s gonna be okay,” Brett whispered, refusing to let him go.

“It’s not going to be okay! I choked you out over nothing and no matter what I do someone is going to wind up dead!” Eddy was hysterical at this point, but at least not violently so. None of what Brett was saying this time pressed on any of that old bitterness like their time in the shower did, “Have you even seen me? I’m already a monster! I’m not even the Eddy Chen you used to know. ”

“Eddy Chen is Eddy Chen no matter what,” Brett whispered, holding him tightly. He wanted Eddy to be okay more than anything, and was frustrated he couldn’t sit up to hold him properly. “And we’ll figure it out, okay? I’ll make sure you’ll be fine somehow.”

“I want you to be okay too...despite the incident,” That’s what Eddy would call it from now on when referring to it. The incident. The thing that would haunt him forever, “Just let me rot, I think I outlived my welcome anyways. I’m really no good.”

He wanted to try to explain his outburst but didn’t know how to bring the right words when that conversation was already past and there was no justification. He just wanted to give Brett reasons, actual good reasons with everything that had ever happened between them.

“I’ll be okay when you are, Eddy. It’s gonna be okay, I’ll figure something out. I’ll fix this,” Brett mumbled, still hugging him. “I will fix this.”

Eddy fell silent trying to wrack his brain for something to say, anything to say, "Thank you… I'm sorry."

He would apologise over and over, because he didn't know why Brett was trying to fix this when it wasn't his fault, "It should be me taking care of you right now, I'm sorry."

“Shut up. It’ll be okay,” Brett sighed, stroking Eddy’s back carefully. “It will.”

Eddy looked up at Brett wearily, "I won't shut up, please let me make this up to. I'll do anything, Brett. Please… I don't know how else to show I'm sorry besides saying it and using actions to prove it. I don’t think I deserve your forgiveness, I really messed up. So anything.. And I mean anything."


	29. Pizza Time Sadness

“There we go, a nice large pizza with extra cheese,” Brett said, still slightly hoarse. It wouldn’t be possible to hear if you didn’t know he had just been choked a few hours before, though. He brought it into his bedroom where he had asked Eddy to wait, closing the door behind him.

Eddy looked up from where he sat on the floor, by the bed, he didn’t feel like he belonged there. Not after what he did, not after Brett acted like it was fine. He fidgeted with his hands slightly as he attempted to smile at the older male, to pretend that everything was okay too. His attempt was unsuccessful, the smile almost faltering instantly. Maybe he could pretend better if he couldn’t hear the rawness of Brett’s throat or the bandages, “It smells good.”

He mumbled whilst looking down at his hands to avoid any eye contact.

“I think so too. It’s just like the old days,” Brett smiled, putting the pizza down on the little table he had, just to keep it off the floor. Then he sat down on the floor with Eddy, crossing his legs. “Remember when we used to have pizza together every other weekend or so? I loved that.”

It wasn’t like old times, he had never hurt Brett back then...or tried to kill him on three different counts. Impending doom lingered over Eddy’s head as he could only feel the sorrow of the situation, “Yeah it was like our tradition, especially after homework or big tests. We did it to celebrate.”

There was nothing to celebrate now, but he thought the least he could do was keep up some conversation.

“I guess we’re kind of celebrating something now, so that’s fitting,” Brett said as he opened the pizza box. He was actually kind of hungry, but he was worried he’d begin coughing once he tried to eat.

“Celebrating that I didn’t accidentally kill you..?” Eddy’s voice cracked as he said that, that shouldn’t be a celebration, he should be getting punished or something not pizza! He did say he’d do anything though so he couldn’t argue too much about this.

Brett scooted closer to Eddy, reaching out to stroke his arm carefully.   
“Celebrating being together for a bit,” he spoke softly, smiling a bit still but nowhere near as much as he did when he came in with the pizza. “I’ve already forgiven you for that, you didn’t mean to do it.”

Eddy fell silent, he didn’t deserve forgiveness. Why was Brett so nice, or stupid enough to forgive him. Like Eddy knew Brett was borderline genius and had to be to run all of this, but sometimes he also thought he was really stupid to let it all fall apart just because he wanted Eddy to be okay.

“Grab a slice,” Brett suggested, doing so himself. He didn’t particularly want to think about being choked before eating, especially as the thought made him want to cough again. He shoved the pizza box a bit closer to him with a small smile.

Eddy slowly reached into the box to grab a slice, he wasn’t really hungry. How could he be? He was just doing this to see if it would make Brett a bit happier or help him pretend to be happy. This was a situation he had never expected to be in. No one in their right mind would expect it, but he wasn’t considered in his right mind so he should have somehow foresaw this!

Brett took the first bite of his slice and chewed slowly. He could already feel that swallowing it would be a problem without coughing. He looked down at his slice. He just had to make it work without Eddy noticing. Eddy was already feeling bad enough about the whole thing, but he couldn’t make himself be mad at him either. He probably should be mad, he did try to kill him after all. 

Eddy watched Brett like a hawk, figuring that swallowing would be kinda hard with a possibly sore throat and the man’s coughing fits, “Would you like me to get you another glass of water and painkillers?”

He was trying his best to be more helpful since sitting there eating pizza didn’t seem like enough.

“I’m fine, Eddy,” Brett smiled bravely, forcing himself to swallow and suppress the coughs as well as he could. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes, but he managed to keep the coughing at a minimum despite it being super uncomfortable.

“Are you sure…” Eddy knew that it certainly wouldn’t feel pleasant for Brett to swallow. So liquid always helped with that to ease the throat a bit. He looked down to his own slice, guessing it was also uncomfortable for him to be staring so hard at the elder. 

Brett tried to clear his throat, but the tight feeling didn’t really let go.   
“Yeah,” he pressed out, trying to take a deep breath without coughing more. “I’m okay, promise.”

Eddy wanted to call Brett out for being a liar, it was counterproductive though with what he was trying to, however, so he kept that to himself, “If you say so, then I’ll believe you Bretty.”

He whispered, once again avoiding any eye contact.

It was difficult to do anything but to nod at this point. Stupid. Why did he try and eat at all? And in front of Eddy? Was he trying to make Eddy feel bad? He put the slice down on the box to stand up and grab himself a glass of water. He was glad he had brought the glasses already.   
“Do you…” He had to pause to cough again. Ugh. “Do you want water?”

“No I’m good,” Eddy would let himself dehydrate because he didn’t deserve any of this, maybe when he saw that Brett was actually okay he’d give into some of the necessary things of life, such as water and substance. Right now tough, Brett wasn’t okay so Eddy would just watch him and try to help. 

Brett went to get himself some water from the bathroom tap, considering to bring some for Eddy even if he said he didn’t want any. He hadn’t seen him drink anything in a while, and they had spent the whole day together. He decided to do so the next time he got himself something to drink, so it wouldn’t be so obvious he went against Eddy’s answer.   
He looked at himself in the mirror for a bit as he waited for the water to be cold enough to drink before pouring it in the glass. The bandages made him look really hurt, more hurt than he felt he was. He hadn’t seen the bruising, but from the slightly blue-ish edge peeking up from under the bandage he figured it was bad. It made sense to him why Eddy felt bad about it, but he didn’t want him to anyway. Brett shouldn’t have told him he loved him, it was completely uncalled for.

Eddy waited not really sure what to do with himself, so he just sat there, staring at the pizza he held in his hands but didn’t dare to eat. He needed to build his confidence to actually take a bite of it when Brett came back, he couldn’t put the elders money or attempt to waste.

Brett brought the glass back to where Eddy was sitting and smiled apologetically before he sipped from the glass.   
“Sorry, didn’t mean to spook you there,” he said as half a joke. He wanted to convince Eddy he was fine, that he wasn’t angry, that he would never be angry and that Eddy shouldn’t feel bad about what happened. It was just so hard, because obviously he felt bad about trying to murder him!

“You have no reason to apologize, you’ve done nothing wrong,” Eddy didn’t lift his gaze from the pizza, just glared at it slightly. Damned thing was taunting him, food always taunted in the worst of times with the anxiety inducing or self deprecating thoughts it caused. 

“I know, I know,” Brett sighed, deciding to go for another bite of the pizza despite his stupid throat acting up. Of course that caused him to cough again, but he limited the amount with water. He looked over at Eddy, seeing he hadn’t taken a single bite of his slice yet.   
“Not hungry?” he asked, putting his glass down.

Eddy worried his bottom lip between his teeth trying to find the right thing to say, if he said he wasn’t then went on his depressing talk it would only make Brett stressed and would waste his time, So he would lie and try to eat it, “It’s not that…”

Yes, good safe answer, and if Brett asked what it was then, Eddy would just have to figure it out.

“Something wrong, then?” Brett asked, putting his slice down again. Eating was exhausting when you coughed everytime you even thought about it. “Other than what we’ve already talked about, I mean? And the obvious that I’m keeping you here against your will?”   
He tried to make the second part sound like he was joking, but it was only half-assed.

“I just feel like I don’t deserve your kindness in forgiveness which in turn means I don’t deserve to eat because it was out of your kindness,” Eddy sighed, it was the truth, even if it was the depressing shit he was trying to avoid, “I’m sorry, you don’t need to hear me saying these kinds of things.”

“Eddy, you’re my friend. Friends give friends pizza all the time. Just pretend like we’re back in the apartment enjoying pizza after a concert or something,” Brett tried to encourage him. “I promise, I wouldn’t forgive you if you didn’t deserve forgiveness. I put you in a difficult situation, knowing your heart belonged to someone else… Just forget the entire thing ever happened, okay?”

“I can’t forget it, I can’t just ignore it either,” Eddy closed his eyes with a sigh, a problem wouldn’t go away just because they pretended it never happened. It was sucky and it was something that couldn’t be fixed, at least not this early on, it would take time or such. How could they just move on when it was still the day of the  _ incident.  _

“Maybe not, I can get that,” Brett sighed, looking down at his hands. He wanted to fix things, make them better. He hated being in situations he couldn’t fix. “But I think… I don’t think it’ll be better if you starve yourself either? If that makes sense? Even if you feel like you don’t deserve to eat or whatever it is you are thinking… It doesn’t help. It doesn’t make what happened go away.”

“It might make me go away though,” Eddy mumbled under his breath, right now he saw himself as the problem, he might not be able to erase what happened but he could get rid of himself so it wouldn’t happen again. Never again.

“But that would be a complete waste, and we don’t want that,” Brett said firmly, reaching out to take Eddy’s hand. “You hear me? We don’t want that. What would Alex say if he heard you talking like that, huh?”   
Brett couldn’t help the hint of jealousy in the bottom of his stomach as he mentioned Eddy’s boyfriend’s name. Just the thought that Eddy was with someone else made him feel sick, but if that’s what he needed to do to pull the man he used to call his best friend out of suicidal thoughts, he sure as hell would.

“He would tell me that tomorrow would be better if I just kept breathing for today…” Eddy looked at Brett’s hand, why was he even touching him? He shouldn’t be, what if he snapped again? This was just sad honestly. 

“I think that sounds like a good suggestion, but maybe also try and get a few bites of the pizza down as well,” Brett said, squeezing his hand gently. “Just because I think that would make you feel better.”

“ Okay, I’ll try,” Eddy nodded slightly as he looked at Brett warily, would it actually be okay if he ate.. He would try to believe Brett in this. Brett seemed trustworthy unlike him, “Are you sure it’s okay?”

“I’m sure. It’ll be fine, I promise,” Brett said with a small smile, squeezing his hand again. He exhaled, relieved Eddy agreed to eat. He didn’t want to end up with Eddy refusing to eat while being held captive by him.

Eddy nodded again, “If you think so.”

He couldn’t argue with that, Brett promised, so it wasn’t a lie...unless. He looked at the pizza, yeah he could do this. One bite wouldn’t kill him, just one bite. It was going to be alright.

Brett could see that Eddy was considering it, so to not scare him from it he decided to grab his own slice again to make it feel more like a normal situation. Just two boys having pizza together. It wasn’t wrong that that’s what they were, but they were also attempted murder victim and murderer. Kind of a strange scenario, really.

Eddy lifted the slice, slowly bringing it to his lips as he kept telling himself that it was in fact okay although he didn’t really believe it himself. He took the first bite, letting the taste of cheese satisfy his taste buds. Extra cheese was always so good, it had always been their favorite.

It was impossible not to smile a bit when he saw Eddy take the first bite. It would be fine, he was so relieved.   
“I know it’s not the same we used to get, but I think that place went out of business a few years ago,” he commented with a tiny chuckle. “It’s not awful, though.”

“It’s sad that they went under, it was really good. The extra cheese here is actually really good though,” Eddy nodded to Brett, trying to cheer himself up to make Brett feel okay with it too. He took a second bite, seeing as the first bite didn’t kill him.

“It’s probably because we were the ones keeping it afloat,” Brett joked with a grin, coughing a bit as he swallowed a bite of pizza. It got better each time, though, as he got used to it. “But yeah, this is the best extra cheese in the area. I have tried every pizza place.”

“Every pizza place? Wow that’s a ton, there’s so many around here!” Eddy exclaimed as he smiled a bit more at the slightly older man . He was starting to feel a bit better actually.

“It helps to not bother to cook… like ever,” Brett snickered, finishing his pizza slice. He could still feel the light sting in his throat with every bite, but it was easier to suppress the coughs now.

“You don’t cook? It’s so fun though,” Eddy liked cooking although some though it was rather mundane. He found some solace in it at least, maybe that’s why he found it fun. It was something he could control or do from his own want and will to please his boyfriend who was a horrible cook.


	30. Phantoms of the Past (nsfw)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we look back into eddy's past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors random sidnote: Listened to Coma Baby by Nicole Dollanger while writing this  
> Warnings: past relationship abuse, unspecified eating disorder, domestic violence

Eddy now sat back in his room. The lights were still on, still jumping into bed and now sitting in the center of the bed. How did he get here? Sometimes he forgot how his life became so fucked up, where it had all begun, where he changed from that shy scrawny boy into this. What was he at this point anyways? A weapon, a monster or was he still Eddy like Brett proclaimed. He didn’t know anymore… It would be fine though, he’d get to maybe see Alex again then get to die. When the six days ended he wouldn’t have to worry about who Eddy Chen was anymore, he’d finally be at peace.

Without caring for his wounds he laid back, it was time for rest. Not that he’d actually get any but he was exhausted so it was worth a try. Killing three people, fucking with and choking Brett then everything else. It took a lot out of a person. Not just physically but mentally as well. Upon closing his eyes all he could see was the image of Brett’s lifeless eyes flashing. Yet another image to haunt him until he was met with the grave, that was coming soon though. Oh so soon and what a freeing day it would be. Living was harder than dying, he didn’t fear death but came to embrace it. Until that day he would embrace sleep instead. Memories already mingling in his sick head.

_______

Where had it started?

_ A strong hand was held out to him, “Hey, I’m Jeremy. I’ve seen you come in quite often but you look so down today, so I thought it was time I finally introduced myself.” _

_ Jeremy was tall and muscular, his brown hair pulled into a man bun, along with piercing blue eyes.  _

_ Eddy took the hand, he could use some kindness. Today was the worst day of his life: He ran away from Brett. In the dead of the night he had disappeared, He just couldn’t take it anymore! He came here to forget about his issues for a little while like he typically did. _

_ “I’m Eddy, nice to meet you Jeremy.” He flashed a wry smile, maybe talking to someone new would help him forget  him.  Anything that got his mind off the petite man with shaggy black hair and thick rimmed glasses was a good thing. A miracle even. _

_ This is where it had started: His journey to the darkest times of his life, all because of  Jeremy.  No it wasn’t being turned to a life of crime by his good friend, or seeing how the man always had women in his arms that wasn’t Eddy. Oh no, that hadn’t broken him only ate at him. This man before him was the one that left him shattered.  _

_ It had started with casually talking at the gym, then it turned into coffee and brunch, before Eddy knew it, they were going on dates with fancy dinners or pizza and making out on Jeremy’s couch. Eddy didn’t really know how he got there, but within five months he was moving in with this man.  _

_ “Wow, I never took you as a gun kind of person, babe,” Jeremy commented as he pulled out a glock 17 from one of the boxes he was unpacking for Eddy, “I like to shoot every so often too. This is a pretty nice model.” He fondled it between his hands, looking at the ware and tare. _

_ “Yeah I learned when I was 17. An old friend gave it to me,” Eddy snatched it from the bigger man’s hands, it was too sentimental to be tarnished or messed around with like that. Brett had gotten it for him. He still remembered how the shorter male stood behind him, helping him take aim and position just right. Calloused hands and soft lips on him, gently guiding. He remembered how he had seen those lips and hands on someone else and how he wished they just belonged to him...But he had Jeremy now so it didn’t really matter. What he had now was what mattered, “It’s more for show now though.” _

_ He cradled it almost protectively to his chest, not even caring that Jeremy was giving him a funny look.  _

_ “Um let’s just continue unpacking...I rather not be thinking of him...I want to be thinking of you,” Eddy whispered as he looked towards the ground, bangs falling over his eyes. _

_ “You’re so sweet,” Jeremy leaned over to press a kiss to the boy’s forehead, “Let’s make tonight a celebration, I finally have my babe all to myself.” _

_ Life between them had seemed to be going pretty well, well until a fateful night. They were sitting on the couch watching straight porn on Jeremy’s laptop. Eddy wasn’t really into it. Like what was so appealing about pussy and tits? He liked women too, don’t get him wrong but he was dating a man. If he wanted all that he would be with a cute flute playing girl not the buff jock. He didn’t really comment though because his boyfriend seemed to be getting pretty into it. _

_ “Wow look how she takes that big cock down her throat so well. I love how her mascara is running and her lipstick is all smeared. Do you think you could take my cock that well?” Jeremy shot his - clearly uncomfortable - boyfriend a look. Eddy had never slept with a man before, and this video was not helping him learn anything.  _

_ He gulped awkwardly as he glanced at Jeremy, “I don’t know, I’ve um never done it with a guy.” _

_ This sparked something in Jeremy, his eyes darkened as he whispered huskily, “Maybe we should test it out then.” _

_ That was how Eddy found himself in the bathroom, cleaning out like google told him how, shaving his legs, armpits and nether regions so he could be smooth. Apparently that was appealing. What wasn’t appealing was how many little cuts the razor had left that were now covered in bandaids. Without further thought on that he finally put on makeup so he could like the women on the screen. It was never going to happen though, he didn’t have long blond hair, nor big boobs or even a wet vagina. How could he compare to a woman, he wasn’t one?! Also it didn’t help that he had no fucking clue how to give head and he was really scared for anything to be going up his ass. For all he knew nothing was supposed to go up there. _

_ With a deep breath he finally made his way out to their shared bedroom, his boyfriend already sprawled out, erect penis standing up proud. Oh there was nothing sexy about it, it was big, veiny and pulsing. How was that thing supposed to even fit in him… _

_ “I hope you prepared well se-,” Jeremy cut off the word sexy as his eyes raked over Eddy’s body, “What’s with all the bandaids on your legs? That’s not sexy at all.” _

_ The smaller male shrunk down slightly, wanting to hide his body more than share it. _

_ As one would expect the night went awful. Eddy was choked on cock and his ass felt like it was split in two. There was no loving word or comfort, his boyfriend only grunted and forced a painful pace because it was what felt good to him, not Eddy. Then afterwards fell asleep. Wasn’t sex supposed to be special when it was done between two people who loved eachother? Then why did Eddy feel so defiled? Why was he sitting in the shower alone trying to scrub his body raw to get off the residue. Why did he wish it was Brett who was his first?...He wished. He started crying at his own thought. _

_ That wasn’t the last time it happened, nor was it the end of what he had faced in the relationship. Maybe he should have ended it there and then before it had gotten worse but he didn’t. He needed someone to lean on, even if it came with the price of misery.  _

_ “Are you really going to eat another bowl of cereal? You might want to watch your weight, I’ve noticed that you’ve been becoming a bit pudgy.” Such things were becoming normal to hear, so Eddy decided he wouldn’t eat for a bit. Maybe then Jeremy would find him beautiful enough. _

_ “Who were you talking to? I don’t think it’s very nice to talk to another guy when I am right here you know?” So Eddy stopped talking to other guys and women because he was bi. Who needed friends when you had a boyfriend, right? _

_ “I don’t really like when you dress like that, it’s too masculine,” Eddy wished he were a woman, maybe if he snipped his dick off Jeremy would love him more? He wasn’t really willing to test that theory though so he did heavier makeup and went for clothing that was traditionally more feminine. He could play straight if that was what kept the peace.  _

_ “Smoking is so unattractive, you really need to quit,” Eddy had only started because it was so stressful dealing with all the other things he couldn’t do or couldn’t be. He quit though not wanting to be seen as uglier than he already was. Everytime he craved tobacco or nicotine he pinched his thigh or used a rubber band to snap against his wrist. It worked for the most part. _

_ The final straw didn’t come until they had been together for a year. It was both freeing and distressing, he had come out to his family. It ended with him kicked out of the house immediately because his strict catholic mother didn’t raise a quote on quote ‘Fag’ _

_ “Why won’t you tell your parents about me, are you ashamed of me?” Eddy had asked, this was all he had and he had so much demanded from him with very little given back. He was disowned by telling his family like Jeremy had oh so demanded.  _

_ Jeremy huffed as if that were a stupid question, “Of course I’m not ashamed of you, I just don’t think you’re worth being disowned over.” _

_ That was it, that was Eddy’s breaking point. His hands shook, from rage or sorrow he wasn’t sure. If he wasn’t worth it then why was he even here. _

_ With a fierce look in his eyes he looked to jackass Jeremy, “If that’s the case then we’re over. I’m breaking up with you” _

_ He stormed out of the kitchen to their shared bedroom to quickly start packing a suitcase as quickly as possible. Jeremy chased after, no surprise there, “Oh come on, stop being a bitch Eddy. It’s not that big of a deal. Why are you like this?” _

_ Eddy had already started throwing his belongings into his suitcase without care, “Oh I’m the bitch?! I have given up everything for you! My friends, my family, my masculinity, my body and you still think I am the bitch? What have you done for me? The only bitch here is y-” his sentence was cut off quite quickly by a backfist to the jaw, making him reel backwards. Jeremy had never hit him before...He looked to the man with wide eyes just in time to be hit again. His nose crunched under the larger fist smashing against his face. He tumbled into the night stand with a loud whimper. This was going to be bad if he didn’t fight back, with shaky hands he fumbled with the nightstand drawer. Quicker than he had opened it, he pulled the gun that Brett had gifted him. His voice grew grave and steely despite the pain and the blood gushing from his broken nose, “You’re going to let me leave, and if you dare hit me one more time I will shoot without hesitation.” _

_ Their relationship came to a dramatic end for the better in Eddy’s humble opinion. _

_ ________ _

  
  


Ray crept into the prisoners room when he heard the familiar sound of Eddy crying and the sound of him struggling. He figured since he was able to calm down Eddy last time that he might be able to calm him again. Quietly he closed the door behind him and approached the bed. He really didn’t even know why he was doing this, he didn’t know the guy. He just felt bad for the dude. Who wouldn’t? The pain, crying and struggling was all too human for an assassin. In some ways that was frightening. This person was human just like Ray but so capable of doing awful things. It was easy to label someone a monster or the villain without seeing this side of them. In some ways it was easier to believe someone was a monster instead of a person that was pushed to this.

Just as last time he sat on the bed and took the prisoners hand, “I wonder what stories your dreams tell.” 

Ray murmured without any expectation of reply, because that would be plain creepy. All he knew was that when he took the captives hand that Eddy calmed down almost immediately. 

Eddy could feel the familiar warmth from the other time.

______

  
  


_ Alex was a different story, this man was the best thing that had happened to him for a long while. They met in London, when Eddy was staying with Belle, the only relative actually supportive of him.  _

_ It was midnight and he was at a bar spotting for his sister, because he was the designated driver. Alex was the pretty man behind the counter cleaning glasses. A crooked smile toying on his pink lips, beak like nose scrunching up at jokes that weren’t even funny and his shaggy black fringe getting into his eyes.  _

_ Eddy couldn’t stop staring, some mannerisms were so close to Brett’s, like the placement of the man’s facial moles, ethnicity, height and bird-like nose. Of course it wasn’t Brett and this man had his own distinctive features. Despite that, Eddy’s eyes continued to linger on his form until Alex eventually noticed. The man had no problem with swaying over. _

_ “Hey.” _

_ Was all Alex said with a small smile. Eddy had no clue how this man became a bartender, his socializing skills seemed to be awful. Not like Eddy was any better at it though, “Hey to you too…” _

_ Their eyes met, a faint smile appearing on Eddy’s face. He hadn’t generally smiled at a stranger for a while, specifically of the male type. Only Brett had been special enough to see him smile. _

_ This was how the best of his adult life started. Unlike Jeremy they didn’t rush into anything. It had started with Eddy frequenting the bar to see this man that resembled his old friend then it transitioned into exchanging numbers and texting all day. After that it took them two years of just being best friends doing stupid stuff togetehr like skinny dipping in a public pool at night time and it also meant the meaningful stuff. Such as Alex encouraging Eddy in the beginning to go back to college and finally finish his music degree. _

_ “Why’d you drop out your sophomore year? You’re so good on violin. I think you really could make it,” Alex watched Eddy pack up his wooden baby with great care. _

_ “I don’t know. I was young, dumb and my best friend at the time convinced me that I should drop out because of our ‘other activities’ becoming more demanding. “ Eddy shrugged nonchalantly to the question. It didn’t matter much anymore, he had given up his scholarships and his dreams, all to follow Brett. _

_ “I think you should go back to school, get your credits and graduate. You have the skills for it, Eddy. You’d be a great soloist, “ Alex was astonished as to why anyone would tell Eddy to drop out! Who did that to their friend? _

_ “You got what it takes, I swear.” _

_ Because of that, Eddy actually did go back to finish up all of his credits. Apparently he did have what it took. It felt so satisfying to see Belle and Alex sitting in the audience to see him graduate. It was the best day of his life for many reasons. After the ceremony he came running to his sister and friend, a huge grin spreading across his face. He really didn’t know what came over him, but he had jumped into the shorter man’s arms, smashing their faces together in a messy kiss because he was so happy. Surprisingly Alex had kissed back, holding the college graduate in his arms, even spinning them around. Belle faintly, “Whooo Hoooed” in the background.  _

_ There were no thoughts of Brett in that point of time, for all he cared the man hadn’t existed. Not when he kissed Alex for the first time and was kissed back. It was just them in that moment.  _

_ “Fuck I’m so sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” Eddy panted slightly as their lips parted, they made no move of actually letting go. Alex looked up at him with a shy little smile on his lips,”No need to apologise. I uh kinda liked it.” _

_ Alex’s face turned a deep shade of red as he voiced it. So they kissed again, and again until the world seemed to fade.  _

_ It was no surprise when they started dating after his college graduation. They didn’t really jump into anything real quick. Eddy still lived with Belle and Alex lived elsewhere, so it was far from his relationship with Jeremy. They hadn’t even had sex! Eddy didn’t mind that at all, sex was an awful thing that he never wanted to have again. The only thing special about it was the pain and how spreading his legs magically seemed to fix arguments. Alex wasn’t like that though, he could also care less if they had sex or not. It seemed like a blessing that someone just desired him, for him. They could hold hands on the couch to just talk for hours or snuggle during a theater without it somehow turning into a felony. Eddy felt like the luckiest guy to have this time to adjust. So if the time came for them to cross that bridge, he knew that he’d be ready. Hopefully. _

  
  


_ “Okay boys, I’m going to be gone for this week for some recitals. Make sure to water all my plants and don’t do anything in my bedroom or on the couch because I will find you and you both will be castrated. No negotiations, anyways I gotta catch my flight.” Belle had called Alex over to look out for her brother, Eddy wasn’t exactly known for taking care of himself, the younger often wore bruises on his stomachs and scratches on his skin. On a happier note, he was getting better. Especially compared to how he was when he first moved in with her. Honestly she was just happy that Eddy was eating with her, being open about what actually happened four years ago and that he was finding love again. Not a lot of people would be willing to. _

_ “Bye Belle, love you. Enjoy your trip,” Eddy waved her off as Alex just smiled and called out, “Don’t worry I will babysit your plants and brother quite well.” _

_ With that remark, Alex received an elbow in the side from his boyfriend. This only made him laugh though.  _

_ Belle simply rolled her eyes with a little shake of her head before hopping in her car and zooming off. Now they had the house all to themselves for a week. They’d practically be living together. Eddy wasn’t exactly sure if that was a good thing or not. Some couples turned out loving each other more or being at one another's throat from so much time together. That was a bit worrisome. What if they came out of this hating each other? Eddy wouldn’t be able to survive that, not again. He had already gone through so much loss of people he thought he cared about. _

_ Alex gently took Eddy’s hands, raising them to his lips and kissing the taller’s knuckles, “I love you, it’s going to be okay.” _

_ He whispered as if he could read the taller’s fears. _

_ “It’s going to be okay,” Alex repeated. _

  
  


_ _______ _

Ray watched Eddy, for once he looked at peace. He thought it was a good look on the boy even if he was mumbling nonsense. He couldn’t really understand anything that Eddy was murmuring in his sleep except bits and pieces. It was probably for the best though so Eddy’s privacy on the matters were kept, “See bud, it’ll be okay.”

He mumbled with a small smile. 


	31. Assumption makes an Ass out of You and Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to the guard's filler posts XD

Inu rested his back against the wall as he glanced around the corner, he was waiting and watching. He hadn’t seen Ray on guard last night but he had a sinking feeling he knew where Ray was. Sure enough he was right. The prisoners door creaked open ever so slowly, Ray poking his head out and looking both ways before exiting. It was obvious to Inu that the rookie was hiding something if he was trying to be this sneaky about it. Inu lay in wait until Ray had disappeared down the corridor leaving the prisoner be. Finally he sprung from his hiding spot and looked at Victor who so happened to be spying too, “Quite odd isn’t it?”

Victor was just shaking his head slowly as he pushed open the cracked surveillance room door to step out from his hiding spot.   
“Unbelievable. It is so obvious what he is doing!” he exclaimed, shaking his head harder this time. “It’s almost like he wants us to figure it out? He knows we’re working today, he knows we’d be around the house. There’s surveillance, for god’s sake!”   
He cracked his knuckles, something he often did when agitated. There were few things that would rile Victor up properly, but two things that did were unwanted sexual contact and disloyalty.

“Maybe we should talk to the prisoner to make sure he isn’t injured and tell the boss about this, “ Inu knew that Eddy tried to shoot their boss but he also knew it was just the guy's job, so he could never wish upon the man such misconduct. Killing someone was merciful but keeping someone alive to suffer was cruel.

“You think he would talk, though? After what happened?” Victor asked Inu, really doubting it. Why would he talk to them, another set of guards, when a guard had been indecent with him? “I mean, we could try, but…”

“I think it would be at least good to check up on him, you know, to make sure nothing is fatal.” Inu was well aware that forcing something into someone could be quite damaging, for a man if something was forced in anally it could cause something to rupture or something far worse. It’s not like they could know for certain though what actually happened and they weren’t allowed to check back in the security footage because of some weird rule Brett had. Probably because of how many one night stands or crying sessions got caught on camera.

“You can die from getting a dick up your ass?” Victor asked, kind of shocked. He, as a straight guy, had zero experience with this. His conservative upbringing didn’t help either. “I guess you’re right, then. But we gotta be careful, you never know what he might do if he’s hurt. He might try and escape again, and you know how that can go way better than me.”

Inu rubbed his still bruised neck, getting choked wasn’t that fun, his windpipe even felt like it had gotten bruised, “Yes you can die from that Victor, organs can press together and things can rupture, then most anal sex causes fissures. So I mean if he’s hurt there he probably won’t be running because it really hurts.”

Inu licked his lips awkwardly, he’d know too but he wouldn’t bring up that experience.

Victor gave Inu a quick pat on the shoulder. He figured Inu knew what he was talking about.   
“That’s a lot more information than I think I’ll ever need, but thank you for letting me know,” he said, softer than usual though his voice could hardly ever qualify as soft. “Let’s go check on him. I say we should be careful anyway, though, because he might not be hurt then, and might want to escape.”

Inu nodded slightly, flashing Victor a small smile, “How about you block the doorway then as I check. I think you’re buff enough to block his way and stop him.”

Once Victor’s hand lifted from his shoulder he walked to the bedroom to quietly open the door, he didn’t want to disturb Eddy too much if he was distressed.

Victor followed Inu, using his size to physically block the entrance behind him. He kept his eyes on Eddy, watching for any unexpected movement. He didn’t trust him, but he didn’t want him to experience anything bad while in their custody either. They weren’t that kind of business.

Eddy was just a lump on the bed, the blanket loosely draped over him so he couldn't tangle himself all up again like he apparently enjoyed doing. He mumbled incoherent things under his breath. Inu could tell the tone was more frail and pleading than anything even if he couldn’t understand what the man was actually saying. Upon getting closer, Inu could see that Eddy’s tears were damp and still glistening. His heart sank when seeing that Eddy had been crying and was still crying from whatever had happened.

“How’s it looking?” Victor asked quietly, not wanting to disturb but needing to know to figure out where to move from there. He didn’t want to jeopardize any of their safeties, and he did not want to be the reason the prisoner escaped by being tricked.

“He’s asleep, and crying,” Inu sniffed the air, he smelled no blood or shit so Eddy’s ass was probably okay since those smells would be quite prominent otherwise, “He’s mumbling something though that I don’t understand. Anyways I think he’s physically okay for the most part...probably just not mentally.”

Inu didn’t want to expose Eddy by taking the sheets off to physically check, times like these were the most vulnerable and it wasn’t his job to show the world

“Maybe he was drugged? Is it even possible to sleep after something like that?” Victor asked, watching them. He actually felt bad for the prisoner, despite truly disliking him. “Ray’s got quite the pharmacy available.”

“I mean sleep can be a coping mechanism and men are wired to fall asleep after orgasm,” Inu sighed, he would keep that as an option though because some men did get a hard on while getting sexually assaulted, not because they liked it but because their body just did that under certain stimuli. That was also why a lot of men victims don’t come forward with things like that because they felt guilty and confused about why their bodies would even do that. However, drugging was also an option because Victor was right, Ray had a variety of those kinds of things, “He could have been drugged, I don’t know though.”

Inu watched Eddy for a good while, it was strange to watch an assassin cry.

“I mean, the prisoner’s way stronger and more trained than Ray… he’d fight back. It’s got to be in his training to fight back,” Victor mumbled, not really believing there was any chance he wouldn’t unless he was drugged or otherwise incapacitated. “Unless he was tied down or something… Check his wrists?”

Inu nodded slightly to that and approached a bit closer, he still wanted to be very careful about being this close. Firstly because he didn’t want to get choked out again and secondly because he didn’t want Eddy to wake up and be put in more distress than he already was. Both would be quite sucky. So he was quiet, carefully he looked over Eddy’s wrists, “There are faint scuffs from when we had to cuff him. But there’s also some bloody bandages on his arms.”

“I don’t like this,” Victor mumbled, shaking his head again. “We should tell the boss, he can’t deny all this evidence, even if the prisoner doesn’t want to talk. There’s surveillance, he can check that. It will prove what happened.”

“Let’s go do that now then, I don’t think we should wait on this too long,” Honestly just watching Eddy was kind of making Inu depressed. He shuffled away from the bed turning to Victor with a wary look on his face. Inu was ready to leave the room.

Victor nodded, taking a step back so they could both exit the room. How would they even explain this to the boss? And also, how bad didn’t this look for HIM? It was HE who had suggested Ray join them in the first place. He was regretting that now, that was for sure.

Inu was more or less thinking the same thing besides Victor’s image. He was wondering how they could even break the news to Brett, it seemed their boss liked this prisoner to an extent because he was keeping him at the house instead of the typical place they kept prisoners. Or Brett was just really badass and thought this was only a threat he could handle. Inu was kinda leaning towards it being both. Nonetheless, he didn’t think Brett would take it well. 

Inu closed the door behind them making sure it was secure and locked before they headed towards Brett’s office.

“What do we even tell him?” Victor asked as they approached the door. He was honestly really nervous about this.The fact that a lot of this was on him made him uneasy. No, he didn’t think the boss would kick him out or anything. They had been friends for years, he wouldn’t do that. It was more how he would deal with that personally he was worried about.

“I think we sugarcoated it a bit, maybe we start with we’ve noticed Ray sneaking in and out of the prisoners room, when we checked on the prisoner this morning he was out cold but was crying. We fear for the worse,” Inu licked his lips, it wasn’t their story to tell but also if they didn’t say anything it was on them if Eddy got more hurt, “Then we can jump into what we think has happened and ask the boss to check the tapes.”

“Alright, good plan,” Victor nodded, raising his hand and knocking on the boss’ office door. 

Brett was catching up on work he had missed, which was more than he wanted to admit to anyone. Taking the time to be with Eddy, to have pizza and a good time meant taking from his sleeping time to get work done. Delegating work wasn’t something he was particularly good at, he preferred doing what he could himself.   
He looked up when someone knocked, furrowing his brows. That was certainly unusual for this time of day.   
“Come in,” he said, pushing his laptop aside to give whoever was entering his full attention. 

Inu was the one to push the door open first and walk in, he was just as nervous as Victor but composed himself fairly well, “We’re sorry for disturbing you while you’re working Boss but we have some concerns, “ he cleared his throat for what he was about to say. It was probably too early for Brett to process all of this when working, Inu thought, “Concerns for your prisoner.”

“What about him?” Brett asked, furrowing his eyebrows. Work was nowhere near as important as any concerns about Eddy.   
Victor shifted slightly, eyes moving to Inu in the hope that he would explain. He certainly didn’t know how to himself, which was pretty unusual for the tough guy.

Inu cleared his throat one more time since he had a feeling Victor wanted to stay out of it for the time being, “Well, Victor and I have noticed Ray sneaking in and out of the room with the prisoner in it. So we went to check on him this morning, he was out cold but he was crying... I think something is going on and fear for the worst.”

“We’re worried he might be doing something to him,” Victor added, not wanting to just stand there. He became quiet again, though, when Brett slowly stood up to pace back and forth in his office like he often did when thinking.   
“That does sound… pretty suspicious, I have to say,” Brett said, licking his lips. “I’ll talk to him, alright? To Ray. There’s probably an explanation, I don’t think he’s capable of hurting anyone even if ordered directly, honestly.”

“I hope you’re right then Boss,” Of course Inu hoped for the best, who wouldn’t? He wanted Ray to be innocent and he wanted the prisoner to be untouched but the situation didn’t look good. It looked awful really and he didn’t know many explanations for a guard being in the room with a captive when it was against protocol. They weren’t supposed to be anywhere near them except for making sure they were alive and behaving.

“Alright,” Brett sighed, dumping back down in his chair. He was worried, he had to admit. “Go grab him for me, then. Ask Ray to come up here. Be nice, it might be nothing.” 

Inu and Victor nodded to that and mumbled a “yes boss” before they left Brett’s office to do as he said.

  
  



	32. Fearful Accounters

Ray had no clue why Victor and Inu told him to go to Brett’s office nor could he discern the look in their eyes. All he knew was that it made him uncomfortable and uncertain. With anxious steps he made it to Brett’s office and lightly knocked on the door, “Boss, you wanted to see me?”

“Yeah,” Brett said on an exhale, running a hand through his hair. He didn’t want to accuse Ray of anything. Ray had presented as nothing but nice so far. He would ask him, they’d look at the surveillance tape together, and he’d take it from there. “Close the door and have a seat.”

Ray shuffled into the room doing as told, this was definitely more than uncomfortable. He would stay calm though and try not to get anxious even though being called to the office never seemed good.

He didn’t dare say anything until he was addressed by Brett.

“So, let me tell you what I’ve been told first, yeah? I don’t want to accuse you of anything, I really don’t, I think you’re a good guy, but I really can’t ignore this,” Brett said, leaning back in his chair and studying Ray. He looked nervous, which didn’t make Brett feel better about the situation. If he had put Eddy in a position where something bad like what Victor and Inu were suggesting could happen to him, he didn’t know what he would do with himself. “Hear me out, okay? I’ve been told you’ve been seen coming out of Ed… the prisoners’ room at night. Is this true, Ray?”

Ray sighed, it appeared he had been found out but at least it wasn’t too bad thus this meeting wouldn’t be too bad either. He had nothing to hide from the boss,”Yes it’s true, I’ve been in his room during my shifts.”

He said more cooly

“I hope, I really hope, you have a good reason, Ray,” Brett said, eyeing up the guy. “I really really do. You do realize how it looks, right?”

“I have a reason but I am not sure if you’ll think it’s a good reason or not, “ Ray thought it was a good reason just because he was an empathetic human being who didn’t like hearing a person suffer. It was inhumane, “I realize it doesn’t look the greatest when it’s against the code of conduct.”

“Please tell me I won’t see anything bad on the surveillance, Ray,” Brett said, folding his arms and resting them on his desk. “Please tell me what’s happening.”

“You won’t see anything bad on those tapes from me, I think you’ll be concerned more though when you see the prisoner, “ Ray spoke softly thinking on it, he really did feel bad for the guy. He probably had too much empathy for this murderer but Eddy was just so human, “Every night that I’ve stood outside the room I hear him screaming and crying, pleaing, begging for mercy or forgiveness or saying how something hurts and for it to please stop. I couldn’t handle it so I went in to see if I could help. First I always untangle him from the blankets he has gotten stuck in, then I sit on the edge of the bed and hold his hand. The hand holding thing wasn’t really something I intended to start, I had noticed that one of his hands isn’t aligned with his wrist and his fingers are also crooked on that same hand. So I took his hand to check it out but noticed he calmed down after awhile when he had that so it became kind of a habit so he can have a little bit of peace.”

Ray explained what he was actually doing there, “I felt bad for him.”

Brett inhaled slowly as he processed what Ray told him, how Eddy had obviously been hurting without him knowing. How could he not know?   
“And that is all there will be on the security tape? You promise me that, Ray?” he asked, meeting Ray’s eyes. He thought Ray was telling the truth, but asking him to promise would make Brett feel more secure.

Ray met Brett’s eyes as he nodded, “I promise Boss, you won’t find anything else on the tapes besides that.”

It was still quite a sad thing to see on tape though, he wouldn’t deny that. All he could hope was that it wouldn’t take a mental toll on Brett if he watched them.

“Thank you. I believe you, Ray,” Brett exhaled, relieved Victor and Inu were wrong. God, he would never be able to forgive himself if that wasn’t the case. “Why didn’t you tell me, though? This is stuff I need to know, Ray. It’s not your job to deal with prisoners without checking with me.”   
Brett wished he knew, he wished he was the one to comfort Eddy. He was grateful Ray had taken care of him, but it should have been him.

“I’m sorry boss I know I should have but in the beginning I didn’t know if it was a trap or not like he pulled on Inu. I didn’t want to put you in danger because I’m certain you would have checked by yourself. After I learned it wasn’t a trap I just didn’t want to bother you and again put you in danger. Boss I saw you spending a lot of time with him, even when you’re his target. I just worried for both of you I guess,” Ray’s eyes didn’t miss the bandages wrapping Brett’s neck and he could only pinpoint it back to Eddy because that was who Brett was with all of the other day, also Eddy cried a bit about it in his sleep. So he kinda knew the assassin apparently didn’t mean to but his decision seemed to be validated either way because Brett was harmed because of putting himself near a dangerous person.

“Ray, listen to me: In the future, you’re not to put yourself in danger like that, okay?” Brett said, sternly but in a protective way. He wasn’t angry, he wasn’t upset, just wanting to keep his guys safe. “You’re important, and you need to be careful.”   
Brett ran a hand through his hair again and straightened his glasses.   
“I will deal with this in the future, okay? If you hear him crying, I want you to come get me no matter if I’m sleeping or working or whatever. I’ll deal with it, I know a thing or two about him, and I’ll make sure he’s okay.”

Ray wanted to argue about that decision, it was stupid! He bit his tongue though because Brett was in charge and a big boy who could handle his own decisions, “Okay I’ll tell you, but boss what if he hurts you again?”

He vaguely gestured to the bandages, hoping that maybe some reality check may make Brett change his mind.

“He won’t, don’t worry about it, Ray,” Brett said, a hand slowly moving up to touch the edge of his bandage. The memory of Eddy’s large hand pressing firmly against his neck was still very clear to him, and he had to clear his throat as he thought about it. “It was my fault for egging him on.”

“I don’t think it’s just your fault…” Ray paused he probably should explain how he figured it out, because it may be concerning Brett that Ray apparently just knew, “He was crying a bit about that last night too…I don’t think he’s that um stable if I have observed anything.”

Egging on was definitely part of it because it must have triggered something but to Ray it appeared that Eddy wasn’t always there or completely right up there.

“It’ll be alright, Ray. I’ll sort it out with Eddy, and I’ll help him at night if he needs that, okay?” Brett said with an assuring smile. “Don’t worry about it, okay? Thank you for caring for him.”

Ray sighed but nodded, “Okay boss, I’ll leave it to you then” There clearly was no arguing with Brett so he would accept it as is and try to make sure his boss didn’t die from staying in the same room as a killer.

  
  
  
  



	33. Simple Pleasures

Normally, Brett would have hummed while cooking, but his throat was still pretty sore and the bandages were still pretty tight. Existing when every little yawn or sigh caused a round of coughing second only to the moment the entire audience would cough in between movements was exhausting.

Breakfast was one of the few meals Brett knew how to cook properly, as that was one of the few meals that was difficult to get delivered with it still tasting decent. Sure, he could mix together some simple soup or maybe even a mac and cheese if he felt adventurous. For breakfast today, though, he had decided on some kind of omelette he made up on the spot with some onions and garlic he had fried up in butter that he added a spoon of sugar to so they would be golden and not as sharp in the taste, then some salt and pepper and some pieces of nice ham he had Victor pick up on the way there before finally pouring the eggs over it all. Victor knew his hams like no other, and tasting while cooking was probably his favourite part. At least when swallowing didn’t make him cough. 

He plated it nicely, too. He made sure he had a few fresh cherry tomatoes and a crisp leaf of lettuce to lighten the heavy omelette. He made coffee with his expensive Brazilian coffee that he had gotten while visiting a business partner as a sign of friendship. It smelled heavenly while brewing and he even poured some milk in a small porcelain mug so Eddy could add some if he wanted. 

All this, just so he could maybe tempt Eddy to eat  _ something. _ Even if he only took one of the cherry tomatoes he would be happy with that, honestly. He hoped he would try the omelette he had spent a significant amount of time making, though he would definitely make him a new one if he wanted anything different. He just wanted Eddy to feel better. Who cares if he choked him, anyway? He lived, didn’t he?

“Eddy? You awake?” Brett asked softly after knocking on his door. He had stopped referring to the room Eddy was kept as “the guest room” and went with “Eddy’s room” instead. The door wasn’t really locked anymore, either. He wasn’t sure if Eddy had realized, though. “I brought some breakfast for you. Omelette.”

Eddy grunted slightly, trying to hide under the duvet more. He was just trying to come to terms with his acceptance of death and the loss of everything he had ever loved. Death was easy but abandoning Alex was going to be the hardest part. Even leaving Brett with such bad memories was going to be hard. He really just wanted to be left alone but with the thought of bad memories in mind, maybe he should try to interact and give something to Brett to have better memories. Anything would beat him leaving Brett without word and strangling him.

So reluctantly he poked his head from out of under the covers, "Making breakfast just for me? That's sweet..."

He smiled, trying to be nice. 

Brett stuck his head inside and gave a smile back at him. He loved Eddy’s ruffled hair and that beautiful smile. He pushed the thought aside, though. They were just friends, after all.   
“Yeah, I hope you like omelette, cause that’s all I know to make,” he chuckled slightly, trying to suppress a cough as he did. “May I come in with it? I brought coffee too.”

"Well at least you can cook something. Yeah you can come in Bretty," Eddy sat up more properly, he was really going to try to make an effort. It was too early to give up on everything now. He would make these last days good. For himself and those around him. Even if that meant pretending to be happy.

Brett shut the door behind him as he entered with the tray, going to place it in Eddy’s lap.   
“You seem to be in a better mood today,” he commented.”I’m so happy to see it. I’ve been worried about you.”

At least Brett bought him being in a good mood, Eddy thought, although feeling a lot miserable with a tad bit of self hatred because everything he ever did. But yeah, good mood, "You shouldn't be worrying about me, you should be taking care of yourself. But thank you."

“I am taking care of myself, and I’m taking care of you,” Brett sighed, sitting down on the edge of Eddy’s bed. Yeah, he also referred to everything in the room as belonging to Eddy now, apparently. “I like taking care of you and making you happy.”

"Thanks Brett, for trying to take care of me. You're so sweet," Eddy looked down to the food placed in his lap. He still didn't think he deserved to eat but it would please Brett if he did. So he would.

“Of course, Eddy. It’s the least I can do,” Brett sighed, resting his head against the bedpost at the foot end of the bed. He didn’t really have an excuse to stay there, Eddy was able to eat for wshimself, but he didn’t really want to leave. He did have work to do, though, that he would have to get to eventually. “You feeling up to get out of bed today?”

“Oh sure, I guess,” Eddy guessed that it would actually be best for him to not stay in bed all day. It kind of made him depressed to stay in bed all day. It would definitely be good for him to do something, “You want to do something?”

Brett smiled upon hearing Eddy was ready for that. It was really motivating to see that his work was paying off.   
“We could go out? Maybe uh…” he ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe let me replace the clothes we ruined when you… uh… came to see me the first time…?”

“Oh sure, but how?” Eddy tilted his head as he grabbed the fork to start actually eat the omelette and show Brett that it was good. He took a ginger bite, it was in fact really good so he didn’t have to fake that so it was a relief.

“I guess we go out and buy them..?” Brett said, not really understanding the question. “I’ll pay, don’t worry about that at all.”   
He gave another smile. It was good to see Eddy eating, and it was especially nice to see that he seemed to like the omelette too.

“We almost got killed from being in your garden, I don’t know if going out to a store is safe,” Eddy quirked an eyebrow as he continued to eat. He debated on throwing in a compliment about Brett’s cooking.

“Fair,” Brett nodded, fiddling a bit with the sleeve of his blazer. He hadn’t really thought this through. “I mean uh… we could… wear some sunglasses or something? A hat?”

“A disguise?” Eddy snorted as he looked at Brett. He could hardly call a hat and glasses an effective one though. However, it did work for superman so maybe it could work for them.

“Yeah? I think it could work. Besides, we’ll be driving to a shopping centre or something I guess, so not much time outside anyway. And I would assume killing us in a mall would be too public, right?” Brett said with a shrug. “I think it could work.”

“I mean if they snipe us no one would know who did it, just that there was two dead people,” Eddy said with a lopsided grin. Then he shook his head with a grin. Maybe it would work though. It would be fine probably. He would fight people again if he really had to, just like in the garden.

“I’m curious to how they would snipe us in the mall, honestly,” Brett chuckled, feeling confident about this plan. “I think it’ll be fine. Wanna go? I’ll get you any clothes you want.”

“Well it’s quite easy actually but that’s a story for a different time. Yeah I don’t mind, we can go. You seem like you want to, and I’m okay with it, “ Eddy cut up more of the omelette, just so he could eat more, “Breakfast is good today.”

“Let’s do that today, then,” Brett smiled, feeling more relaxed now that Eddy was actually responding to his care. He was hopeful Eddy would be feeling okay while here. “I’m glad you liked it, I kind of experimented a bit with it.”

“You did? With what?” Eddy asked curiously, he wanted to know just so they had common ground and to take his mind off of everything. That would do them well but mostly him, “So what mall do you want to go to, today?”

“I normally wouldn’t fry the garlic with the onions, but I thought maybe it would soften up the taste a bit. Let me know what you think,” Brett chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “And I dunno. I guess it depends on what kind of clothes you want? Still into Gucci?”

“I think it softens the taste too, would have been really good if you fried it in butter, and caramelized the onions,” Eddy commented and smiled at Brett, cooking was kind of a comforting thing to him when nothing else was certain, “Yeah, I still like Gucci. Do you?”

“I guess, but I’m usually in suits so I don’t really wear it much anymore,” Brett shrugged with a small smile. It was difficult not to smile when he saw Eddy do it. “I’ve got a few items in my closet, though.”

“I remember you wearing their shoes more than anything else. I liked their belts, “ Eddy continued to munch until no more food was left. It was time to drink the coffee and feel more awake from it.


	34. Going Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for forgetting to post yesterday!

Brett switched the car off after stopping in the underground parking garage of the mall. He had just picked the closest mall, and he was feeling excited about this. A teasing thought entered his mind that made his stomach do a flip, the tiny little thought that this felt a bit like a  _ date.  _ He barely dared thinking the word out loud in his head. Eddy wasn’t his to have, and Eddy didn’t love him. Brett was okay with that.   
“Alright, we’re here, and I guess this is the most dangerous part of the trip, honestly,” he chuckled softly, turning to look at Eddy in the passenger seat of his jaguar.”Getting from the parking garage to the shops.”

“I will protect you, if someone comes to harm you. I will kill them, no hesitation,” Eddy had made a promise, and he intended to keep it. He had said no one would kill Brett, Brett was only going to die by his hand. Although Eddy wouldn’t be able to kill him it felt like. He would keep his promise though in other ways.

“Thank you, Eddy,” Brett hummed, swapping his glasses for a pair of prescription sunglasses. He couldn’t wear them while driving in the dark parking garage. “Let’s head inside, then.”

“I promised you Brett, I intend to keep it, “ Eddy hummed, not sure if Brett completely remembered that. It probably wasn’t the most important thing to remember out of everything that had happened between them. Yeah a lot had happened between them and honestly he wasn’t sober enough to actually deal with everything.

“I know you did,” Brett said, getting out of the car so Eddy wouldn’t notice the shift in his energy. While he wouldn’t want it any other way, his brain automatically showed him the memory of Eddy’s hand pressing against his throat upon being reminded of his mortality.

Eddy unbuckled himself then opened the car door to jump out. After hopping out he closed the door softly not wanting to ruin the car door at all. The car was more expensive than his life...then again what wasn’t worth more than his life? At this point a lot was higher ranking than him when it came to worth. He glanced around to make sure no one was coming to slice their throats or something.

Brett shut the car door too, the sound echoing off the concrete walls of the pretty empty parking garage. At least empty of people.   
“Where do you wanna go first?” he asked, locking the car. He wasn’t as excited about this anymore with his brain getting caught up in the memory of being strangled. A small cough escaped, despite him trying to suppress it.

“I don’t know, I think looking around would just be fine,” Eddy tried to remember what it was like to be a normal functioning human in society. He would try to not call any attention to themselves or fight anyone. So that meant avoiding any triggers that would make him want to fight someone. Yeah, he could totally do that. First things first was getting out of the parking garage, he had burnt too many bodies in them. He was pretty sure that he had even murdered someone in this one, but he refrained from trying to recall that with Brett right there. The elder didn’t need to think he was going to burn him alive or anything. He didn’t have the materials to do it anyways.

“Sounds good,” Brett nodded, beginning the walk to the elevator that would lead them to the shops. He assumed Eddy would follow. A tiny thought in the back of his head wanted to take his hand, but of course he couldn’t do that.   
He honestly thought of himself as an idiot for having these thoughts at all. This man had tried to kill him, for God’s sake. Twice! Any love he had for the man should have evaporated long ago.   
For some reason, though, it hadn’t.   
Eddy trotted behind Brett like a lost puppy, although he very well could run at that moment and probably should bolt for it. The assassin could probably find his own way home from here, he had observed a lot of things and had seen all the roads plus streets they went down. Finding Alex would’ve been easy from here most likely, but rather than leaving he just followed with uncertainty. Eddy was really good at following other people, he had duly noted. After all, blindly following anyone who showed him a bit of kindness like a lost and kicked puppy was what had gotten into most of his mess. It was just in his nature it seemed, so he didn’t run.   
  


Brett didn’t really know what more to talk about at this point. He couldn’t tell Eddy his thoughts, and he had run out of other things to talk about in public. There wasn’t much of their lives they could discuss where other people could hear.   
He pressed the elevator button when they got up to it and ran a hand through his hair as they waited. It felt awkward and nothing like he wanted this to go at all.

Eddy stared at the elevator not sure what to do, he could tell Brett was having the same struggle too. So he would take it upon himself to start a conversation. A conversation that wouldn’t get them in too much trouble or disturb those around them, “So..”

He started off, he was pretty bad at this to no one's surprise, “Do you come to this mall often or too busy working. I’m usually too busy working and not in the country.”

“I don’t really go often, no. Only whenever some girl I’m with for a week demands something,” Brett shrugged as the elevator doors opened. “I guess it’s been a while.”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound that pleasant,” Eddy waited for Brett to walk in first. The elder man had weird tastes, first he liked Eddy and then a bunch of bitches, no offense to anyone who could read Eddy’s mind, “Gifts don’t become as special when someone is demanding it.”

“I guess not,” Brett shrugged, stepping into the elevator. “And no, it’s not really pleasant to have met someone who you think you maybe could make it work with but who turns out is only interested in money and not you. But I guess you don’t see that before it’s too late if you’re lonely enough.”   
Brett shook his head slightly at the end of his rant. “Sorry, that was unnecessary information.”

“I guess I don’t have that problem, because I am pretty broke,” Eddy shuffled in after him, staying on his own side as to not cramp Brett’s style, “I’m sorry that you go through that, often as it seems. It’s okay if you rant a bit.”

“Not so often anymore. I’ve learned not to try,” Brett shrugged, pressing the elevator button. He didn’t want to think about it, and yet words kept spilling out of his mouth. “And I guess trying that now wouldn’t be fair on a girl anyway.”

Eddy watched him, he wasn’t sure what to say much about that. However, he did wonder why Brett didn’t just go look for a guy because Eddy was a guy so another guy to fill that weird love void may work. Wouldn’t it? Eddy had found himself a lovely man and had basically forgotten Brett existed, except for the picture of their teenaged years on his nightstand and his gun. But outside of a photo and a hunk of metal the elder hadn’t really existed until now. Alex was no replacement though to Eddy, Alex was just Alex, “Maybe you should find another guy. They can be materialistic and jerks too, but if you find the right one it’ll be nothing like any of your other experiences. I mean that goes the same for women if you find the right one, if you’re more into the curves and all the other stuff.”

“I’m mostly only into guys if they’re you or I’m drunk,” Brett mumbled, half hoping Eddy wouldn’t hear. The thing was, he had already found the right one, and the right one didn’t want him so there was no point in trying. The right one was a guy who had tried to kill him twice. The right one was Eddy. It didn’t matter, though, because even though Eddy was the right one for him, he apparently wasn’t the right one for Eddy. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get a cat or something.”   
Joking always worked, right? He could fix the mess that had become of this trip, right?

Eddy definitely heard the mumble but would pretend he didn’t for the sake of Brett’s sanity. No need to humiliate the man anymore, Eddy didn’t just reject him, he flat out strangled Brett then had the audacity to feel bad about it. Eddy held a sigh in because he still felt bad about that, who wouldn’t? 

“Maybe you could get a dog, they’re more loyal. And always show affection even when you don’t think you deserve it, “ Eddy hummed slightly, dogs and cats really did make life a bit brighter.

“Too much work,” Brett shrugged, hearing the robotic voice over the loudspeaker in the elevator announce their floor. A moment later the door opened and Brett just wanted to get out of the confined space.

Eddy nodded to that, he could understand that. It was hard to take care of something when there was hardly anytime to do so. Any busy person would understand that, and he was busy. Being captured was probably the longest he had ever had off time in quite awhile and now he knew why he didn’t take time off. The time with his own mind was driving him crazy!

“Yeah, they are but at least they are fluffy and cute,” Eddy took a step out first this time. 

“That’s true,” Brett agreed, following Eddy out of the elevator. The amount of people in the mall was making him low key nervous, because there was no way he’d be able to keep an eye on them all. He looked up at Eddy for a bit, seeing that the hair in the back of his head was a bit messy, and he couldn’t help the tiny smile playing on his lips. Talking about fluffy and cute…

“So where should we walk first?” Eddy asked as he looked around, there were a lot of people around. Nothing he wasn’t used too, he could handle this. The only thing that was concerning was making a scene in front of everyone. He would work with what was thrown their way.

“Just walk around, wasn’t it?” Brett asked, looking away with a tiny hint of pink on his cheeks. “Wherever you want, you’re the one getting clothes after all. I’m just your walking ATM I guess.”

“Oh, okay,”Eddy nodded, he didn’t really see the point of getting anything. Firstly he was a prisoner, secondly he was going to be dead soon. Dead people didn’t need new clothes, unless they were in the U.S or Canada where their bodies are sliced, wired and caked in make-up during the embalming process. They would need fancy new clothes for their death day. He didn’t think Brett was trying to help with his funeral though.

"So I guess just tell me if you see anything you like," Brett said, trying to smile a bit. He did like treating people he cared for, and he certainly cared for Eddy. 

Eddy tilted his head to the side, then nodded again. He would probably just look then find a simple t-shirt to get as to replace his bloody ones, “Sure, sounds fun. “

He smiled, with his head still tilted. Good memories were what he wanted to leave Brett with so he’d play along.


	35. All Good Things End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no write, but we're back with a new chapter!

A few hours later, after walking around in the mall for what felt like forever, they still hadn't really found anything. Or well, 'they' wasn't really accurate, Brett supposed. 

"You can choose anything, I promise it'll be okay," Brett said for probably the third or fourth time. 

“I know, “ Eddy hummed to Brett as he looked around the stores. He didn’t feel really right about spending Brett’s money, especially when it had no real purpose. This had no purpose except for him to get out of his head for a bit and to get fresh air. It was kind of fun to walk around and chat with Brett.

Brett looked around for a bit, trying to find one they hadn't briefly stopped by yet. 

"How about we go there and look?" he suggested, pointing it out to Eddy. "Seems not too far off your old style, at least."

Eddy looked to where Brett was pointing, the store didn’t look too bad so he wouldn’t mind exploring it, “Oh it looks interesting. It may be fun to explore.”

He concluded, maybe he would actually find something nice to look at. He didn’t exactly want to spend Brett’s money, not after everything. So he was perfectly fine with just browsing and pretending to show some interest.

“Awesome, come on,” Brett said, probably more enthusiastic than he had been just a moment ago. Finally something Eddy seemed to actually like! “But like I said, it’s really no big deal to spend the money. I have more than enough.”

Eddy flashed a wary smile, yeah fucking with a guy, strangling him and then using his money didn’t sound all too appealing. Sure, Eddy was a criminal and sunk to low places but he wasn’t going to sink that low. That would just be even more awful than what he had already done. It was hard not to feel guilty about that, “Thanks Brett. I guess we’ll see.”   
“I guess we will,” Brett agreed as they approached the shop. It really looked more promising as they got there. It really looked like the kind of clothes Eddy would have liked when they were kids, at least.

Eddy glanced around. To his right was a shelf that was as tall and long as the wall, it was painted a sleek black and held a bunch of graphic tees. A little picture was displayed within individual shelf-cubbies to show off the designs. On the left wall hung button down shirts, blazers and some nice skirts. The middle of the floor was an array of the different clothing, big brands and lesser known brands and then accessories such as belts along with wrist cuffs.   
“This one’s nice,” Brett suggested, pointing to a red and black checkered shirt. “Don’t you think?”   
Eddy eyed it over. It was red like blood. Blood of those that he had slaughtered and that he could never wash away. His hands were so dirty that they would turn the whole ocean red before they’d become clean, “Yeah I like it. I’m often told that red looks good on me.”   
“It does,” Brett agreed with a small smile, looking at the sizes. He realized quickly he had no idea what size Eddy was anymore, though. He looked over at Eddy, trying to judge it.

Eddy seemed to sense Brett’s dilemma, “I’m a medium to a large. It depends on the brand.”

He ran a shaky hand through his hair, he would entertain Brett for now. The man did take him on a shopping trip after all, so Eddy should probably seem like he was actually looking at clothing. Not just looking but actually thinking of getting it. 

“Let’s try with a large, then, and I’ll just get you a medium if it’s way too big,” Brett said with a small smile. He was really trying.

“I take it that I should probably try on a large one then, “ Eddy smiled back at Brett, just trying to make up for his sins by appeasing Brett. Deep down he knew that indulging in Brett would never atone for his wrong doings.

Brett happily pulled a large to hold for Eddy while he looked at the other clothes, in case he wanted to bring more stuff to try on at once. He really just wanted to make Eddy feel better. 

“Do you see anything else that you think looks nice?” Eddy asked just to see if there was anything the man specifically liked, “I’m not all too used to clothes shopping, anymore. The organization usually provides this sort of stuff to me.”

Brett blinked a few times. Oh, of course. He hadn't thought of that at all. 

"Well, I can pick out some items I think would be nice, but tell me if there's anything you really don't like, okay?" he said with a small smile. 

“Yeah of course, I’ll say something if I don’t like it, “ Eddy still knew what he liked and didn’t like, even if the clothing he got was out of his control. The organization didn’t really care about his opinions, they only cared about regulations and keeping their ‘employees’ in those regulations. It was more like selling his soul without a choice more than being employed, but oh well. New clothes didn’t particularly matter to him, either way he was going to die. Then again maybe he could die in fashion.   
Okay, what would look good on Eddy? Brett scanned the store, trying to imagine it. Of course, imagining Eddy was something he normally avoided, so he had to be strict with himself not to go down that road. 

"Okay, then, maybe something like this…" he mumbled, mostly to himself as he pulled a dark jean jacket, a white hoodie with some embroidery and a few other regular items like trousers and white t-shirts.    
Eddy just watched Brett, tilting his head side to side to see everything Brett pulled out. He was kinda curious to see what the elder thought would look nice. They were all generally good choices so far, so Eddy wasn’t all too concerned about it, “When you’re satisfied we can go to the dressing room.”   
"Let's just start with these and we'll go from there," Brett said, looking around to find the dressing room.    
Eddy nodded to that, he wasn’t quite sure where a dressing room was so he just walked to the employee at the front counter since she wasn’t busy, “Excuse me ma’am, where are your dressing rooms?”

He asked politely like he had been taught to although he didn’t like interacting with people.   
She smiled at him softly then gestured to the back with her head, “They’re right back there, sir.”   
  
“Thank you,” Eddy nodded then glanced back at Brett to make sure he saw where they were too.   
Brett nodded and headed towards it, expecting Eddy to follow. It did actually have a sign above it too. Probably could have seen that if he had let his three brain cells work on that. Eddy of course followed Brett although this would be a very good time to run off. That would do him no good now, so all he could do was be obedient. It was kinda nice that Brett trusted him enough not to run away.   
Brett found an available dressing room and pulled the curtain back properly to hang everything up in there for him. Sure, he had seen the surveillance video, and of course that time in the bathroom that didn’t end all that well, but he was pretty sure Eddy wouldn’t want him to see him change. All that mattered right now was helping Eddy feel better.   
“Maybe try on the white t-shirt and the checkered shirt first, just to see,” Brett suggested, turning around and just expecting Eddy to be there. It felt like they were out as friends and not as prisoner and captor.

Once Eddy was in the dressing room, and the curtain once again closed, he hummed slightly in acknowledgement to what Brett said. Slowly he pulled his shirt off since they were both in privacy. He avoided looking at himself in the reflection, he didn’t want to see himself either, “It’ll probably be a nice combination .”   
He pulled the white t-shirt on first then pulled the checkered shirt over it.   
Brett leaned slightly against the grey wall in the shop, waiting for Eddy to get changed. In one way, this felt like the most normal thing in the world. In another way, it felt so weird to be with Eddy in this very normal setting.   
Eddy finished putting it all on so he pulled the curtain open to show it to Brett, it was natural to do so since the elder was the one who chose the clothes, “What do you think?”   
Brett blinked a few times. He had to force himself to actually make his brain make words and his mouth to form them, because looking at Eddy made his brain do stupid things. He tried to remind himself that the man in front of him had literally tried to kill him  _ twice _ .   
“Looks good,” he decided on with an awkward smile. Stupid brain.   
  


Eddy ran a hand through his hair as he smiled softly at Brett, that’s all he could do really, “Thanks, you picked out some nice stuff, “ he commented as if it were the clothes that made it nice. Which he would believe because it’s a nice combination.   
“I think the large was a good choice,” Brett nodded, finding himself looking at the slightly loose fit. Yeah, a tighter shirt would definitely destroy him. “How about you try the hoodie and the trousers now? I’m not sure if the trousers are long enough, but that’s the longest they had.”

“I’m not that tall you know, just a bit taller than the asian average,” Eddy chuckled, they would probably fit him since the average height in Australia was probably bigger than him or about the same. Eddy hadn’t exactly looked into that, “But yeah, I’ll try them on.”    
He shuffled back into the changing room, closing the curtain behind him to peel it all off.   
“You’re taller than me, that’s all I see,” Brett chuckled with a small smile. He thought it was nice that Eddy was tall, really. It felt safe, in a screwed up way.

“A lot of people are taller than you around here,” Eddy said teasingly as he put everything back neatly on their hangers, then took his shoes off to strip his pants. He would try the hoodie and trousers as Brett asked, then would model them for Brett to see.   
“Well, not everyone’s a fucking tree,” Brett snickered just as teasingly back at him, shaking his head slightly. “You getting changed in there, or just thinking of new ways to bully me, huh?”   
  
“Well I’m stripping while thinking of ways to bully you, so multitasking,” Eddy laughed, he found it kind of funny. He missed these more light hearted conversations. They were something that made life better, even though life was kinda sucking at the moment.

“I see how it is,” Brett scoffed jokingly, still leaning on the grey wall. “It’s not very nice to bully short people, you know.”

“I’m not exactly the nicest person, you know,” Eddy retorted as he pulled the new articles of clothing on, then walked out of the dressing room again to show Brett. This would be the process until they were both satisfied. 

“I was wrong, the trousers are actually an okay length,” Brett said, avoiding Eddy’s comment. He really thought Eddy was nice at least 99% of the time. He was pretty nice usually, except of course the few occasions he had tried to kill him. Brett didn’t really care about those times anyway. “You look great. The hoodie is a bit big, though, maybe?”

“Well you chose nice things, so of course it looks great.” Eddy glanced down at himself in what Brett had chosen, they were very nice and felt nice too. He liked it for the most part, “I don’t mind it’s a bit big. Bigger clothing can be quite comfortable.”

And easy to hide in if he didn’t want to face the world.

“Yeah?” Brett asked, not having thought about it. He mostly wore his tailored suits recently anyway. No large hoodies or t-shirts for him. He probably had some in his closet, but they were never worn. “We can get the bigger size, I don’t mind.”

“Yeah, especially when you have a rough day and want to disappear, so if you can feel small by wearing bigger clothing then it kinda helps in the illusion of disappearing. Also it just feels nice,” Eddy shrugged then nodded, before he picked up on the last part Brett was saying. Wait, were they going to get these? It made sense since Brett picked it out but still.

“I haven’t tried it. Maybe I should sometime,” Brett nodded with a small shrug. The thought of borrowing the hoodie from Eddy hit him, but then he realized he was an idiot because Eddy would only have this one hoodie. And then he realized he was an idiot again because he had no business borrowing Eddy’s hoodies. “Maybe we should grab you some fresh underwear and stuff too while we’re out here. And socks and stuff.”

Eddy had been going commando for a bit - not today though - to solve the dirty underwear issue but he wasn’t about to admit to that. Actually having clean underwear to wear would be quite nice, and he would very much enjoy not being in danger of getting his penis stuck in the zipper of his pants, “You should, you’d probably like it and yeah, that would be really nice actually.”

“We’ll grab some. And maybe a bunch of the t-shirts too, it’s nice to change those every once in a while,” Brett said with a small smile. It was nice to get to treat Eddy. “And it seemed they had that hoodie in red too, if you wanna get an extra of those.”

Eddy still wasn’t sure if this was all okay but he was also pretty sure if he put everything back that Brett would just sulk and get really depressed about it. So if he thought it was right or not, it was to make Brett happy and that was what Eddy would do, “Okay cool. Thank you, Bretty.”

He slipped back into the changing room, “I’ll get out of this.”

“Sure, I’ll just go grab some extra of the t-shirts for you, then. Any preference on colours?” Brett asked, pushing himself off the wall. He needed a quick breather to himself. His brain was being stupid, and he needed to get his shit together.

“I like black, “ Eddy hummed, black was a good color. It meant he could sink into the shadows, or pretend like he was just a shadow himself. He liked going unnoticed for the most part, to have attention on him was always a bad thing. Except for this and when he got attention from Alex, “I also like pastel pink though.”

“I’m pretty sure they had both of those. Meet me over at the t-shirts?” Brett asked , already kind of moving away from the dressing rooms. Stupid brain, stupid brain, stupid brain...

“Okay,” Eddy started to peel everything off like he had the first time, but this time he got back into his regular clothing. It took him a couple minutes, but soon he walked out with all the clothes in hand and went to find Brett.

It didn’t feel like it got easier to breathe when he got the few extra meters away from Eddy. Brett still felt stupid and ashamed of his thoughts. He shouldn’t really have these thoughts at all.   
“So, pastel pink and black…” he mumbled to himself, looking at the selection of t-shirts. He quickly spotted the black ones and began pulling some of those out.

When Eddy noticed that Brett hadn’t seen him yet, he decided that he would sneak right behind Brett. A mischievous glint found its way into his eyes as he suddenly finger jabbed Brett in the sides and whispered, “Boo” in the man’s ear. 

The adrenaline that flew through Brett at that was intense, and he quickly turned, grabbing one of his ‘attacker’s’ hands with one hand and was about to punch him in the stomach. Luckily, he realized who it was before actually hitting, slowing the punch into a super light bump instead.   
“Jesus christ, Eddy, you can’t scare me like that,” he huffed, still with a pretty firm grip on Eddy’s hand. He could still feel his heart racing.

Eddy just grinned and giggled like a mad man, besides all the assassin stuff he was still very childish. If his fit of giggles from scaring Brett half to death was anything to go boy. He wouldn’t mind if Brett hit him, he would actually prefer if Brett beat him. He knew it was probably what he deserved, “Well I technically can and did. Also you don’t need to be afraid to hit me, I’m not fragile.”

“I don’t want to hit you, and that’s why you can’t scare me,” Brett said, looking up at Eddy for a bit. God, he really was so close, wasn’t he? He had to shift his gaze away again, feeling his cheeks warm up slightly. “I found you some black t-shirts.”

Eddy would step away but Brett was still holding onto his hand with a death grip, “It’s okay if you do Brett. Just to keep your senses sharp.”

Or if Brett just wanted to use him as a punching bag, that would be okay too. Would make him kinda happy to be punished like that, “Oh cool, thanks. Black is really nice.”

Brett slowly realized he was holding onto Eddy’s hand and quickly let it go, cheeks burning.   
“I don’t want to hit you,” he repeated, shaking his head. He turned away to grab the black t-shirts in the right size he had found. “They have some pink ones too, I just haven’t pulled anything out for you yet. We’ll head over there now and then I guess some underwear and socks and stuff.”

Eddy would try to convince Brett later on the whole hitting thing, doing it in the store probably wasn’t a good time to discuss how he wanted Brett to hurt him. Then again, maybe that wasn’t a good conversation anywhere. Just maybe, “Then after that, I guess we’ll head back to your house.”

“That was the plan, yeah,” Brett said, shuffling over to the pastel pink t-shirts. They only had one in Eddy’s size, so he grabbed that too for him. “Unless you wanna grab bubble tea or something, I guess.”   
Immediately after speaking, he realized he was an idiot. What a great way to make this feel less like a date. Not.

“Bubble tea is good, but it’s probably dangerous for us to be out any longer than we already are, “ Eddy was a bit paranoid. Given the organization had sent assassins to finish Brett, and probably him for being a failure, so he had good reason to be paranoid. Someone could come to kill them any moment.

“We can just stop by somewhere and grab it on the way,” Brett said, thankful that Eddy turned his offer down. He could still be nice, still treat Eddy to a bubble tea like he deserved without it turning too date-y. Perfect.

“I think we’ve tarried here too long, honestly. I’m surprised no one has come to kill us, “Eddy cleared his throat, maybe he should grab underwear and socks quickly so they wouldn’t waste anymore time here. There were eyes and ears everywhere.

“Alright,” Brett nodded with a shrug. He didn’t see the big rush, honestly. “Let’s grab you some underwear and socks and stuff and head out, then. Any kind you prefer?”

“No, not really. I will just see their selections and grab something,” Eddy hummed softly. He just wanted to live long enough to see Alex again. That was his only wish really, he wanted to live a bit longer so he could see Alex again. So that meant he had to make sure they got out of the mall alive. Currently he had noticed no threats but that could change.. No one had come for them yet, thus it might be safe but only a fool fell into a false sense of security.

“Alright,” Brett nodded, leading him to the shelf with all the different kinds of underwear. Socks were in a basket underneath. It felt weird to be with Eddy while he picked out underwear, like he had no business being there. “Grab enough for laundry once a week maybe, and let’s head out.”

Eddy scanned his options briefly then grabbed boyshorts which were typically higher up on the thigh and tighter, like the ones he wore in the masturbation video, and the colors he chose were simply red and then some black. For socks he just grabbed black socks, and they varied in size, “These will do. Thank you again.”

He really hoped that Brett wouldn’t keep him for weeks but he didn’t know.

A hint of red spread over Brett’s cheeks as he saw what Eddy picked out. He should have known he liked that kind.   
“Alright, let’s grab everything and pay and then head out,” he mumbled, shaking his head slightly to snap himself out of it. He was holding the t-shirts he had picked for him already.

Eddy nodded, he would just carry the socks and underwear so they could get going and make it out of there with their lives. Although, they were probably gonna make it out with their lives anyways. However, it was better safe than sorry. At least that was how Eddy saw it, “Yep, sounds like a plan.”

“Where’d you put the shirt and hoodie and stuff?” Brett asked with a hint of a teasing smile. He figured they were probably in the changing room still.

Eddy blinked owlishly, “Oh shit, still in the dressing room!”

He facepalmed in slight annoyance at himself, “I thought I grabbed them!”

“I’ll get it,” Brett chuckled, shaking his head slightly and headed off towards the changing rooms. Yeah, that reminded him of the Eddy he knew as a kid.

Eddy stayed put and waited for Brett’s return. He glanced towards the exit of the store, this was a perfect opportunity to bolt out of there. He couldn’t find it in himself to do it though, right now they were both alive and if they separated there was no promise of that. So, he looked back towards the dressing room and waited.

Brett grabbed the hoodie, the shirt and everything else he had pulled for Eddy. He’d get him anything, really.   
“Theere we goo,” he hummed as he got back to Eddy, leading the way to the cashier to pay for everything. His bank account would probably not even notice the missing money.

Eddy stalked along right behind Brett. It was kinda strange to go shopping with Brett again, he wasn’t sure if he felt like a pet or a doll. Either way he was thankful that Brett was treating him so kindly and even spoiling him, even though he was far from deserving of it.


	36. Where's my Prince?

Eddy sat in front of the dresser in his given room, if it weren’t for the bars in the window it would feel a bit more homely but it still wasn’t home to him, even if he was putting newly bought clothes into their own drawers. He sorted out everything, the shirts were in their own drawer and ordered by color, which was the common thing he did for everything else. Separate drawers, except for the underwear and socks, along with being sorted by color.

Brett watched him sort his clothes. Sure, Eddy had been into keeping stuff organized and in order before, but never like this. It was interesting to see his system, though. It felt like a window into how his brain worked.

Eddy finished up soon enough, since there wasn’t a lot to sort in the first place. He glanced back at Brett, a small smile on his face, “Thank you again, Brett. You really didn’t have to do this.”

“It was nothing. Really, I just want you to be comfortable,” Brett said with a small shrug. “If there’s anything else you need, just let me know, okay?”

“Okay, thank you,” Eddy didn’t really need anything else, he just wanted to see his boyfriend really. All he could do was hope that neither of them died and that Alex would still want him after fucking with Brett. He could really only hope that he wasn’t seen as used goods. Given he had never known Alex to be as shallow as that, then again this was also technically cheating so....It was a very iffy situation.

Brett just gave a small nod. It seemed to him that Eddy was doing better than he had this morning, which was very good. He had to admit he was doing better too, having taken the bandage from being strangled off finally. He still had bruises around his neck, but his breathing was feeling better at least.

Eddy slowly stood up, not sure what to really do now. Maybe he should just change, but then again he did just sort all of it and if he changed into something new he would ruin his organization. He really needed to wear different underwear though. He sighed to himself, yeah he would change. So he opened the drawers to grab what he wanted and then straightened it all up again.

“So, what do you want for dinner today?” Brett asked, noticing that he had moved his hand to feel the bruised area on his neck. He let it drop, not wanting to draw attention to it. “Maybe some more pizza?”

“Yeah, I think pizza would be good,” Eddy pulled his shirt off then worked on kicking his pants off. Brett had seen him naked and had his dick up Eddy’s ass, so the younger saw no problem with changing in front of him. Not to mention, he assumed that Brett would probably look away.

Brett was stunned for a moment when Eddy straight up just undressed in front of him. Well shit.   
“I uh… I’ll go order then… Cheese pizza?” he asked, standing up and very demonstratively locking his gaze to the door.

“Cheese is always amazing, are you gonna do extra like last time?” Eddy started with changing his underwear since Brett was looking away at the moment. Aaaah, that was nice. No more commando or wearing his boxers inside out to figure out the cleaner side. After that he pulled on a hoodie. He was comfortable in just that for now, simply to air his legs out a bit.

“Of course,” Brett nodded, still with his eyes locked on the door. “I’ll come get you when it’s here, yeah?”   
He really just wanted to get out of there, because the thought of what had happened the last time he had seen Eddy naked was creeping up on him making him feel like he had to cough again.

“Yeah of course,” Eddy folded his dirty clothes neatly and set them atop of the dresser. He didn’t want to mingle them with any of the clean stuff. After everything was the way he wanted it, he shuffled to bed, flopping down on it with a slight bounce. 

Brett then left the room and quickly shut the door behind him. He couldn’t deal with it.

_______   
  
Brett felt almost nervous knocking on Eddy’s bedroom door with the pizza in hand about an hour later. He hoped he was dressed, that was for sure.   
“Eddy?” he asked, waiting for a reply before entering.   
  
“Come in!” Eddy called back, he was just hugging a pillow and had been trying to nap unsuccessfully as he waited for Brett. All in all he had just laid there hugging a pillow and retreating in his mind.

The door creaked as he peeked inside.   
“I brought pizza,” Brett said softly, trying to spot if Eddy was dressed. “If you’re ready for that.”

Eddy still had no pants on, he was all leg, but he had a hoodie, boyshorts and longer socks on if that counted as being dressed, “I’m ready, I don’t really have much else to do but lie here and think.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Brett said, entering as he had decided Eddy was dressed enough. He carefully sat down on one end of the bed, placing the pizza between them. “Okay for you if we eat in here?”

Eddy uncurled himself from the soft pillow then sat up so he could eat, “I don’t mind. We don’t need to eat anywhere fancy.”

He shrugged slightly then cracked his neck.

“Pizza hardly counts as fancy anyway,” Brett said, trying to smile a bit. The goal was to make Eddy feel better about being with him after all. He opened the box and grabbed himself a slice of the extra cheese pizza. 

Eddy watched Brett for the most part, maybe to make sure it wasn’t poisoned, “It is a luxury though. I missed eating pizza, the last time you got it was the first time I had it in years.”

He grabbed his own slice when deciding it was safe.

“Really? Well, you deserve all the pizza you want,” Brett said with a smile, but his cheeks reddened and he turned his gaze down to his slice. “But if you think pizza is fancy, I’ll show you fancy sometime. If you want.”

“Yeah, the organization has us all on strict diets. They expect me to stay at 63.5 kg, so I don’t get to eat around much, “ Eddy hummed, since he was a medium framed 178 cm male his weight should actually be around 69.8 to 71.6 kg. So the organization was actually keeping him under weight rather than in the healthy range.

“That’s not very much,” Brett said, furrowing his brows. “Especially with your muscle mass.”   
Brett shook his head, biting into his pizza slice. It was still pretty shocking to him every time he heard about what Eddy had been through.

“Yeah, I guess it isn’t a lot. I suppose I don’t pay attention too much to it anymore. It’s just all routine now.” Eddy watched Brett sink his teeth into the slice, now he knew it wasn’t deadly so he took a bite of his own, “I’ll enjoy this for now, and to comment on showing me fancy stuff because I forgot to reply, yeah that would be nice.”

He might as well simply enjoy life while he could.

“Alright, that sounds good to me,” Brett hummed, chewing his pizza. This felt very normal, and it was easy to imagine Eddy hadn’t tried to kill him not all that long ago because he confessed his love for him. He actually tried really hard to pretend that had never happened, partially because he didn’t want to remember his feelings for him and partially because thinking about it made him cough.

“Cool,” Eddy munched the pizza with a hum, he was really going to miss pizza when he was dead. If he could miss things when he was dead. He glanced at Brett, wondering how long the man planned on keeping him. Eddy’s time was already up, so this was kinda keeping him safe but he had no clue how Alex was. Did they kill him for Eddy’s traitorous behavior? Did he even know Eddy was alive? Why hadn’t Alex come to get him like he promised? Maybe the man was actually trying to get rid of him? Eddy shook his head to clear his thoughts, “You probably know lots of fancy places, huh?”

“I guess, but most of them are abroad,” Brett shrugged, running a hand through his hair to get it out of his face. He had been to fancy restaurants all over the world, but being in Australia, at home, he often ended up just ordering takeaway. Hardly a fancy dinner under any circumstance. “I do know this one place downtown, though. It’s pretty fancy. Like dress up kind of fancy.”

“Yeah? I think I only have my old concert clothes that could be considered fancy. I mean I guess I had other suits but they got ruined from blood, knife fights, getting stabbed or shot and so on. The old ones are the only ones that have survived,” Eddy tried to keep his tone even.

“I’d get you a suit, no problem,” Brett shrugged, grabbing another bite of his pizza. “If you want.”

“Unless it’s for my funeral, I don’t think I’ll need one. “ Eddy ran his clean hand through his hair to try to straighten it up.

“You will if I’m gonna take you out to a fancy restaurant,” Brett shrugged, chewing his pizza. “But I guess your boyfriend wouldn’t be too happy if I did.”

And now Eddy was thinking about Alex again and his sinking despair, “Yeah, Alex...He can be quite possessive.”

He murmured, except Alex hadn’t come for him and Eddy had sex with another man. Everything was spiralling now, “That’s if he still wants me, you know he promised he would come find me but he still hasn’t come.”

He figured Brett did know since Alex threatened Brett on the phone.

“I should probably watch out for him, then. Of course he’d come get you,” Brett said, turning his gaze to the window so he would have an excuse not to look at Eddy. If this Alex guy was as possessive as Eddy said, he better watch out. He literally had his dick in his boyfriend. “Gotta be careful.”

“I don’t know, my time was up ever since those assassins came. They were gonna kill both of us, and if they could find where you live then surely Alex could too… But he hasn’t come. I wonder why,” Eddy was just making himself depressed again, he would try not to think about it though. He would just have to wait in his cage for his prince charming. And if prince charming didn’t come, then Eddy would have to make his own way, “If he comes, I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt you.”

“I’ll make sure he can’t hurt me when he shows up, don’t worry about that,” Brett shrugged, biting his pizza again. And he would make sure he wouldn’t hurt Alex. He owed Eddy that much, he thought. Eddy seemed to really love the guy, after all.

“Okay, “ Eddy found himself losing his appetite, he simply couldn’t keep his mind in check. He didn’t understand why he was still here. He didn’t want to be rude though so he finished his slice and reached for another one.

…

That evening, Brett waited outside Eddy’s bedroom door, making the excuse of “guarding the prisoner himself” to the guys. Ray hadn’t believed him, of course, but at this point Brett didn’t care. He just wanted to hear Eddy’s nightly cries for himself.

He had checked the surveillance tape, though, and even though the room was dark he could see Ray sitting next to his bed. He saw how Eddy calmed when Ray took his hand, holding it carefully. Brett wanted to make Eddy feel safe like that.

Brett had almost fallen asleep sitting with his back against the wall next to his door when he was jolted awake by what sounded like tortured screams that tore through his heart. He sounded like he was in pain, and it made Brett’s heart speed up. He was quick to get on his feet and open the bedroom door quietly, finding Eddy alone and crying out in terror. Brett felt his heart shatter, seeing the subject of his love in this much distress. He wasted no time crawling onto his knees next to him on the double bed and carefully taking his hand like Ray had.

“It’s okay, Eddy,” he whispered softly, giving the somewhat misformed hand a gentle squeeze. It was obvious that something had happened to it sometime. “I got you, Eddy. I’m here.”

Eddy felt the familiar grip he had felt every other night, but it was a tad different. Not that he minded too much though. For him it was still a sense of protection and safety. A reminder of Alex. The thing that kept him sane at night then left him feeling empty. That didn’t matter to the sleeping man though, this was what he needed. His nose scrunched up slightly as his cries just became sniffles. Tears already started to dry and of course his screams stopped.

“I got you,” Brett mumbled again, slowly moving to a more comfortable position next to him, careful not to wake him. It was late, way past midnight and listening to Eddy’s breathing gradually evening out was rather soothing and was making him even drowsier. He gave Eddy’s hand another squeeze and closed his eyes, just to rest them a bit. Eddy was calm, but he didn’t dare to let go, didn’t want him to suffer whatever evil his nightmares held. 

Not long after that, he drifted off into dreamless sleep.


	37. The Dragon and Sleeping Beauty

Eddy felt warmth by him that he couldn’t explain. Every time he woke up after his dreams, he would feel the emptiness that came with being lonely. But this time the warmth was not fleeting, it lingered at his side. What was that? Did his prince finally come? There was only one way to find out, he had to open his eyes and see if he was gonna be disappointed again. Groggily they fluttered open, to look upon a familiar face. He stared for a few good seconds, being quite tired and not being able to fully comprehend who was with him. It was not his prince but the dragon he was sent to slay that had coiled around him. So Eddy did what anyone would do, close his eyes and pray it was just some weird dream.

Brett was only half asleep, trying to make sense of the fact that the pillow he was hugging was so warm. It was nice, though, smelled nice and familiar. He shifted his hand to try and feel the shape of it, but couldn’t make sense of it. The bed felt weird too, nothing like his own bed. Maybe this was just a dream?

Eddy tried to stay as still as possible. Maybe the beast would uncoil itself from him if he gave it no reason to tighten its grips. One could hope right? Although it was a bit unlikely that Brett would move away unless he woke up. But Eddy didn’t want to wake Brett up, that meant facing the issue at hand.

Wait… Brett knew where he was. He was in Eddy’s room! His eyes flew open as he realized what his “pillow” actually was, or rather  _ who _ his pillow actually was. He shifted back, almost falling off the bed, but luckily catching himself before actually falling.   
“Fuck, I’m sorry, I…” he began, but quickly realized he had no idea how to continue that sentence.

Eddy’s eyes snapped back open, shit the man knew he was actually awake but how!? Or it was just a reflex for Brett to apologise and he should have continued to pretend that he was asleep. 

His eyes met Brett’s in a quick moment, “Why are you in here?”

Eddy cleared his throat, being more confused than mad.

“Shit you’re awake,” Brett exhaled, shaking his head. “I’m so sorry, I was just… I was gonna try and calm you, with your… your nightmares… I swear, I didn’t mean to stay in here…”

Eddy almost cursed to himself, he knew he shouldn’t have blown his cover! This was now immensely awkward. He tried to look somewhere else to see if it became less awkward, it didn’t help at all. 

“Oh...Nightmares you say?” Eddy cleared his throat again.

Brett blinked, trying to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. He had just woken up and was still lowkey panicking.   
“Yeah, you’ve… as long as you’ve been here you’ve had… you’ve been screaming and crying in your sleep…” Brett exhaled, rubbing his face to both wake up properly and calm his panic from realizing he was caught.

Eddy licked his lips, he didn’t like that information at all. It was kinda embarrassing to know that his captor came in to try to comfort him from his nightmares. Also kind of weird if Eddy was being honest. It wasn’t really anyone's business but his own. 

“Really, I hadn’t realized.” Eddy murmured as he shook his head slightly.

“Yeah, no, you’ve… I’ve heard it’s been since the beginning. It’s been Ray comforting you until tonight,” Brett said, backing off so he was sitting with his back against one of the bedposts by the foot end. He looked all disheveled from his sleeping. “I’m sorry if that was overstepping, I guess both Ray and I just wanted you to be okay.”

Eddy hadn’t really met Ray so he had no clue who that was or what that name meant, “Who’s Ray, and why would he care?”

He sat off carefully, “I guess I don’t really care if you come in to check up on me. It would just be kinda nice to know.”

“Ray’s the… the guard who treated your shot wound,” Brett explained, running a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t really know until like last night either… Ray’s just been doing it.“

“I was drugged, so I still don’t know who that man is,” Eddy blinked owlishly at Brett. Okay so more people had been in his room. That wasn’t creepy at all.

“Right, sorry. I’ll… I guess I’ll introduce him at some point,” Brett mumbled, shaking his head. “He’s just been kind of… holding your hand…”

Eddy’s brow raised, that was even more creepy. Just a stranger coming into his room and holding his hand. Eddy wasn’t sure how to feel about that, “Yeah, I think I would like to know who has been coming in here.”

Maybe he could make sure that they weren’t just some creepy man.

“Want me to get him… like now?” Brett asked, slowly scooting himself off the bed. “What time is it even…?”   
He pulled his phone out of the pocket to check the time. Yeah, Ray should be working.

“Sure I guess, “ Eddy loved judging people in the morning, it was totally his favorite hobby. Not really but it was better now than never. He wanted this mystery solved and maybe he would play nice if no creep alarms went off in his head.

“Okay, I… I’m sorry I… I didn’t mean to sleep here…” Brett stuttered out as he kind of backed towards the door. “I’ll just go get him. I’ll be back in a minute. I’m sorry, again.”

“It’s fine, just tell me next time,” Eddy ran a hand through his hair, Brett had his dick up the younger’s ass so being caught in the same bed was the least of his concerns. Unless Brett was trying something, then it would be a problem but right now it seemed fairly innocent, ”See you soon I guess.”

Brett nodded and disappeared out of the room.


	38. Creep Test

Brett was cooking breakfast, another omelet. He had asked Ray to stop by the kitchen once he was done with his tasks for the night shift. He was still feeling a bit shy about being caught trying to care for Eddy. Why had he fallen asleep in his bed? That’s next level creepy.

Ray slowly stopped into the kitchen, “You needed me, boss?”

He wasn’t sure why he was called in, he really hoped he wasn’t in trouble.

  
Brett looked up from the frying pan and found Ray.   
“Yeah, I uh… Would you mind introducing yourself properly to Eddy?” he requested, washing off his hands. “I told him you’ve watched over him.”

Ray smiled nervously, “You mean the guy who choked Inu and strangled you, wants to see me after hearing that I have been watching over him?”

He gulped slightly, he was a bit concerned about this arrangement.

“Yeah, just to make sure you’re not some creep, I guess,” Brett confirmed, pulling the frying pan off the heat and fetching some plates. “If you don’t mind?”

“And what if he decides I am and kills me?” Ray really just wanted to nope out but how could he even get out of this? He probably couldn’t, all he could do was hope for the best or for Brett to have mercy on him. That would be really nice.

“I’ll be there too. Just let me get this food on some plates,” Brett said, cutting the omelet in half so they could have a half each and sliding the parts onto two plates. “Wanna help me carry something?”

Ray sighed, at least Brett would get to witness him being murdered by the prisoner, “Yeah I can help, what do you want me to carry for you?”

He would succumb to his fate

“Grab the coffee, please,” Brett said, nodding to the two cups of coffee he had prepared as he placed the sliced cucumbers on the plates.

Ray gingerly picked up the cups, he was happy that Brett would at least be there and would protect him from the savage. Sure Eddy looked all cute and cuddly when he was asleep but now the man was gonna be awake and he was capable of terrible things.

Brett grabbed the plates and some cutlery and led the way up the stairs, expecting Ray to follow. He was kind of nervous about this, honestly, but at least Eddy seemed relatively calm considering two different guys, neither of which were his boyfriend, had watched him sleep. At least Ray hadn’t cuddled up with him in bed.

Ray followed silently, he looked around as he did. He had to keep himself calm and figure out escape plans if he needed to. He watched Brett from behind, hoping this would turn out okay.

Once they got up to the room, Brett knocked carefully on the door.   
“Eddy? You dressed and all? I’ve got Ray and some breakfast,” he said in a gentle voice, waiting for a reply before even considering entering.

“Yeah, I’m dressed you can come in,” Eddy sat at the edge of the bed, ready to face both men who had been watching him sleep. He would need to be calm and observe the situation. This was so strange but he couldn’t really jump to conclusions.

Brett opened the unlocked door and shifted inside, offering Eddy one of the plates. Ray followed behind him, carefully putting the coffee cups down on the nightstand.

Eddy carefully took the plate from Brett, “Thank you.”

He glanced at Ray, eyeing the man over like he was a steak that was being held in front of dogs. Eddy looked away slowly to look at his plate. At least it was a young good looking man and not an old, greasy creep.

Ray turned to Eddy once he had put the cups down. He just hoped he wouldn’t be slaughtered in a moment now.   
“Hi, I’m Ray,” he said in a polite voice, holding his hand out for Eddy to shake if he wanted. “I guess I’m the closest thing to a doctor around here.”   
Brett watched the interaction, carefully sitting down on the edge of the bed so he could eat his own part of the omelette.

Eddy stared for a good few seconds at Ray’s hands then carefully took it. He wasn’t exactly sure how to take this, maybe break the man’s fingers. Then again, Ray’s hand felt so warm and was so big compared to his. He kinda liked the feeling too much to break the man’s perfect hands. They were also slightly calloused, maybe the man was a musician, “I’m Eddy, nice to meet you.”

Eddy looked up and smiled up at him.

“I’ve been told you know about… well, that I’ve sat with you at night and stuff…” Ray said, a bit unsure, letting Eddy’s hand go slowly. “And I understand if that was… well, a bit inappropriate, but I promise it was only with good intentions in mind. You can check the security tape if you want. I just couldn’t sit outside and listen to you scream without doing anything, you know?”   
Brett watched them, saw how Eddy smiled when he took Ray’s hand. It was almost like seeing him back in the day, really, with that smile. He loved Eddy’s smile, it was one of the things about Eddy that made his stomach fill with butterflies with fluttering wings.

“Yeah I know, you kinda sound as nervous as Brett did this morning when he almost flung himself out of bed,” Eddy tilted his head back with a warm chuckle. He was over his suspicions, it was gonna be fine. 

“... Flung himself off the bed?” Ray asked, raising an eyebrow with a small chuckle. “Really?”   
Ray of course had his suspicions for why Brett was in Eddy’s bed, but didn’t say those out loud.   
Brett on the other hand blushed hard upon hearing Eddy tell Ray that he had been in his bed when they woke up. That definitely wasn’t on purpose. It just kind of happened. Not that he didn’t like it, but still...

“Yeah, he freaked out,” Eddy hummed then looked at his omelette, “I didn’t really expect it but it was pretty funny. I must admit.”

Admittedly, Eddy talked a lot. Especially when he felt comfortable. Brett and Ray weren't creeps just worried but extremely awkward. Not an entirely bad thing.

“Yeah? That’s hilarious,” Ray chuckled, leaning on the wall by the door. He looked over at Brett who was silently eating his omelette. Would he be allowed to head home from work soon, maybe?

Eddy cut up his part of the omelette to start chomping, which was actually pretty good. He guessed Brett had made it, the man used to always cook more between them but Eddy had learned when being a stay at home boyfriend.Cooking was actually fun even though Brett didn’t really enjoy it much anymore, he guessed he could understand why though, “I kinda feel bad that he was more shocked then I was.”

He looked to the elder again, “Thanks for the breakfast.” 

“Gotta make sure you’re fed,” Brett said with a small smile, reaching for his coffee cup to grab a sip. He could see Ray shift a bit by the door, remembering that he had actually been at work all night and was scheduled to head home fifteen minutes ago. “Oh uh… you need anything more from Ray? He’s actually done working for the day…”   
Ray nodded to what his boss said, waiting to see what Eddy said. He was just more sure there was something more to their relationship than Victor or Inu would ever agree to.

“Hmm, nah I don’t. He can go home and such, “ Eddy smiled at Ray and waved at him to say goodbye. He was more assured though, although it was still kinda weird to have a stranger pity him. He wasn’t used to people’s kindness that much. It was okay though, he got it from the people he wanted it from.

“Thanks,” Ray chuckled softly, placing his hand on the door handle. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you when I come back to work tonight, yeah?”   
He added the last part to Eddy, because he figured that the nightmares weren’t his only issues.   
“Go get some sleep, Ray. We’ll see you,” Brett commented, kind of just wanting to enjoy the morning with Eddy alone but also still feeling awkward about waking up holding Eddy. At least Eddy seemed less freaked out about it.

Eddy watched Ray leave them, it was just gonna be time between him and Brett now, “If we’re being honest, I kinda miss waking up next to someone. Well when I had someone to wake up to. I didn’t mind much finding you there, just surprised.”

He smiled wearily at Brett then sighed, Brett kinda had similar features as Alex. So he could pretend if need be.

“Yeah?” Brett asked, taking the last bite of his omelets before exchanging the plate for his coffee mug. “I guess that makes sense. You’re used to waking up with your boyfriend, I suppose.”

“Yeah, at least when he’s home. Or when I am home. When one of us comes home after a month or so, that’s really the best,” Eddy took another bite of his omelette. All he had was the memories, he wasn’t sure if Brett was going to actually let him go. So he might as well make his bed and cry in it.

“It does sound nice,” Brett nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. “I suppose you miss him a lot.”

“I do,” Eddy glanced towards the window then away so he could focus on just eating, “I have been with him for five years now. It’s kinda hard not to miss him.”  He shrugged a bit.

Brett nodded, running a hand through his hair. Of course he missed his boyfriend. He couldn’t exactly replace him.


	39. Reflection

Brett had tried his best, he really had. He wanted to take care of Eddy, he wanted him to be happy staying with him, to thrive. Of course it wasn’t possible to make a tiger feel content in a cage, though, no matter how nice the meat you fed it was. A tiger belongs in the jungle, with the other tigers, not trapped in a zoo with a zookeeper. It didn’t matter how much the zookeeper loved the tiger: A cage was still a cage. 

This particular tiger had escaped once before, though. Left after a fight without a warning, disappeared overnight while Brett slept. If there was one day in his life Brett had thought about in the past eight years, one day he had analyzed over and over trying to understand what he did wrong, it was the day Eddy left him.

___

_ “Bye, babe, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Brett told his girlfriend, kissing her goodbye as she headed off for work at the bar. He couldn’t help but smirk as he watched her slightly awkward walk as she headed down the stairs and disappeared out of sight. It had been a fun, loud night. He loved the confidence boost he got from hearing her cry out in pleasure and moan his name. He’d have to apologize to Eddy for probably keeping him up half the night again. Though, he had to admit, he hoped he had. He wanted Eddy to know what he was missing out on. He wanted it to be Eddy. _

_ He kept up his smug face as he moved into their tiny kitchen where he knew Eddy was having dinner and grabbed himself one of the leftover cans of soda he had nicked from the supermarket down the street for their pizza night last Saturday. Money was tight, and he wanted to surprise Eddy with something nice for a change. _

_ “Brett, I need to talk to you about something,” Eddy said, looking up from the sad vegetables and cheap rice they had for dinner the last few days after the pizza ran out. They were scraping by, but they needed to do another job for someone soon if they didn’t want money to run out completely.  _ _  
_ _  
_ _ Brett sat down across from Eddy and opened the soda can. _ _  
_ _ “What’s up?” he asked before throwing back a gulp. He’d let Eddy have the rest of the food and he’d manage on the soda for tonight. If all else failed, if he could find no jobs for them, he could always go grab a piece of fruit off the market stalls tomorrow. “Something wrong?” _

_ Eddy shifted slightly and put down the chopsticks he had reused from the takeout they had shared last week. _

_ “Listen, okay? I can’t do this anymore with all the stealing and the… the shootings and all that. We gotta find something proper to do,” he said, meeting Brett’s eyes. Brett just shrugged at him. _

_ “What would we even do, Eddy? Some minimum wage job that won’t even pay the rent of his crappy apartment?” Brett sighed, shaking his head. They had a very similar conversation last week, but nothing came of it. They had chosen this, and Brett didn’t understand why Eddy was doubting it now. Eddy pushed his plate of food away. _ _  
_ _ “You don’t understand, Brett. It’s dangerous and immoral, and I don’t want us doing it anymore,” Eddy said, sounding almost annoyed now which put Brett on his defenses. He was the guy with the plans, after all. _ _  
_ _ “Look, Eddy, I know money is a bit tight right now, but…” _ _  
_ _ “It’s not about the money, I just don’t want to put you in danger anymore, Brett. I…” _ _  
_ _ “I’m only ever in danger because you never practice shooting and miss important targets,” Brett said, rolling his eyes. “Don’t be silly, Eddy, we’re good at this. I know the vegetables suck, but you know there’s always more jobs nearing the weekend. And the corner guy said he’ll pay us nicely for doing a trade for him on Tuesday. It’s just a small setback.” _

_ “You’re not even listening, Brett. Fucking listen to me for once! I don’t want to do this anymore! I don’t want to be a criminal! I don’t want to...” _

_ “Just stop, Eddy. You know realistically that’s not an option!” Brett interrupted him, raising his voice now. He was listening! What on Earth was Eddy on about? “What are you gonna do, then? With no education? Please, tell me what’s in that life for us. Busking day in and day out when you can just swap a small bag of pills for a wad of cash in less than half the time?” _

_ Eddy stood up quickly, placing another plate over the rest of his food before chucking it in the fridge.  _ _  
_ _ “I don’t know what else we’d do, do I? I just don’t want to do this anymore. Brett, I want both of us to fucking live! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this is dangerous! Neither of us know how to shoot properly, and still we go seek out people who don’t give a shit if we live or die! Just to earn some cash! I thought you valued our lives higher than that, Brett, I really did” he said, slamming the fridge door shut. “I’m done, Brett. I’m not doing this anymore!” _

_ “Please, Eddy, if you have better suggestions, feel free!” Brett answered, sharper than probably was necessary. Eddy was probably just tired. _

_ Eddy just shook his head at him and headed for the living room. Brett stood up to follow him, knocking over his soda can. He didn’t even look at it. ”Where are you going?” _

_ “I’m going to bed! Go call your girlfriend if you’re so lonely, I’m sure she’ll come keep your dick busy so you can use your brain for something that’s not trying to look badass for once. Guess what, Brett? Almost getting killed every week to barely survive off fucking dry vegetables isn’t badass! We’re not even earning enough to survive, so even if the bullets won’t kill us, starvation fucking will!” _

_ Brett stood speechless as Eddy stomped off to his bedroom and slammed the door, making the glasses in their cupboard clink against each other. He had never seen Eddy that agitated before. _

_ He was sure Eddy would come around, though. Absolutely sure. The next morning he’d come out of his room for their soggy cereal breakfast and they’d get on with life and laugh together again like they always did when they fought like that. _

_ Boy, how wrong he was. _

_... _

_ The house was very quiet the next morning, and it didn’t take Brett long to discover that Eddy had left while he slept. That wasn’t completely unusual either, really. He thought he would show up during the day, though, or maybe even that evening.  _ _  
_ _ It wasn’t until he had to go back to bed in the same silence he had woken up to despite several unanswered phone calls he began worrying. _

_ The following day, Brett took a walk around the neighbourhood to look for him, but of course couldn’t find him. His girlfriend wanted him to go home to fuck and do the stuff they usually did, but for the first time in a very long time they didn’t feel like fucking. This of course pissed her off which in turn pissed him off which led to another fight. They didn’t talk anymore after that, really. _

_ That night, as Brett stared up at the ceiling of the living room after having slowly collapsed onto the floor for reasons he hadn’t consciously processed yet, the realization that Eddy probably wasn’t coming back slowly crept up on him. Maybe if he had found something better for them to eat that night? Maybe if he had tried harder to find something for them to do? It felt like an elephant was taking its time sitting down on his chest, squeezing his heart and making it impossible to breathe. _

_ He really was on his own now, wasn’t he? _

______

Brett shook his head to snap out of the memory as he stacked what he figured would be the last stack of breakfast pancakes he would cook for Eddy. It was time to let the tiger go home. It was time for Eddy to go home to his boyfriend, where he could be happy.


	40. Homeward Bound

Brett had almost dropped the stack of pancakes on the way back up the stairs. His hands just wouldn’t stop shaking. He knew it was the right thing, that letting Eddy come home was what needed to happen. That didn’t change how much it made Brett’s stomach tighten with the knowledge he would have to go back to be on his own.

He paused outside Eddy’s door and took a few deep breaths, looking down at the food he had cooked. It smelled lovely, almost sweet. Unfortunately, it only made Brett feel sick this time.   
“Come on, you gotta do this,” he muttered under his breath as he shifted the tray over to one hand and knocked on the wooden door. He had to let the tiger go home. The tiger didn’t enjoy a caged life.

"Come in!" Eddy was a bit more used to the routine now so he wasn't as sulky. He still was when Brett wasn't around but when the elder was around he made sure to be more pleasant. It was the least he could do after trying to kill Brett twice and fucking with him. He still felt bad about that, really. Who wouldn't? Maybe some heartless monster. Eddy may be a monster but he wasn't heartless.

Brett placed a still way too shaky hand on the door handle and let the door glide open.   
“I brought you some breakfast,” he said, much softer than he normally would speak. It felt like his voice had lost all power, but he had to keep his mask anyway. Eddy didn’t need to know it was difficult for him to send him home. “Pancakes. You seemed to like those last time.”

"Oh, thank you. I appreciate it a lot," Eddy didn't care at maintaining his regulated weight for the organization or diet anymore. He was going to die anyways, he might as well die chubby and happy. Given he was pretty sure he wouldn't get chubby from eating pancakes or that pizza he ate with Brett. He hadn't had enough to do so, but it was the principal of the matter. If he were to die, he wanted to die happy with himself and live the way he wanted to. He couldn't exactly live like he wanted to with being captured but at least he could eat what he wanted to.

“Of course,” Brett said, going over to place the tray on Eddy’s bed. He was a bit stiffer in his movements than normal, mostly because he felt like passing out or puking at any second. The same feeling of the elephant he had all the way back when Eddy left him originally was slowly overwhelming him too, forcing him to sit down on the edge of the bed. “I hope they’re good.”

"Are you okay? You look sick," Eddy was an assassin so of course he had very keen eyes. He could pick up on the small differences in Brett's behavior. 

“Yeah, yeah… It’s just… I’ve been thinking about something…” Brett said hesitantly, running a hand through his hair. “You should eat first, though. Here.”   
He pushed the tray towards Eddy, wanting him to enjoy the pancakes. Maybe Eddy would at least miss the pancakes he made for him, if not him.

Eddy slowly nodded at Brett. He wasn't sure if he should check for poison or not. Did Brett finally break? Was he going to die from his old friend's hand rather than the organizations? It could be worse he supposed,"Oh, okay."

He murmured before getting ready to eat breakfast.

Brett watched him for a bit, but keeping his eyes on him for too long made him just feel worse about the whole thing. Every selfish cell in his body was screaming at him to not let him go, to hold onto him like a koala to a tree. He knew that was a bad idea, though. He knew Eddy was unhappy, and he knew what he had to do to make him happy. If he really loved Eddy like he was so sure he did, he should put Eddy’s happiness over his own. That was exactly what he was going to do. Eddy was unaware of Brett's thoughts but was pretty sure something was wrong. Either way though, he kept silent and ate his breakfast. He was sure that Brett would prefer that. There was no reason to stress out the stressed man even more.

“Are they any good?” Brett asked, his voice shaking now, which was not great. Eddy probably thought he was actually sick, which wasn’t the case at all. He was just scared, because he knew he had grown attached to Eddy again. He should never have spent all that time with him. He should have known it would end like this.

"They're delicious Brett, you're a good cook. You should do it more," Eddy spoke casually as if he didn't hear the tremor in Brett's voice. He thought it would probably be better to give Brett his space and let him talk about what was up, when he desired to talk about it.

“Maybe, maybe,” Brett said, exhaling slowly. It was better just to let him know, wasn’t it? At least instead of torturing himself in this awkward and painful middle zone before letting him know.”But Eddy, I…” He paused, trying to think about the best way to go about it. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything that you would like,” Eddy simply stated, he had no reason to not answer Brett’s questions. Not like they would be used against him. At least Eddy was pretty certain that Brett wouldn’t try to use everything he said against him.

“If… if you could have anything you wanted…” Brett began, licking his lips nervously. He wanted to cry, but for some reason he only felt empty. “Anything, anyone. What or who would you pick?”

Eddy closed his eyes, he wanted to try to imagine what he wanted. What he truly wanted. He had let go a lot of dreams and desires considering the hell hole he worked for and everything he went through, “Anything I wanted and it was possible, huh?”

He opened his eyes then looked at Brett, Eddy would tell the man exactly what he wanted, “Ideally, I want to live longer than I am expecting I will. So I want to be out of the organization; I want a domestic life, I want to get married, I want a family. I want all those things with the man who loved me even when I was undeserving of love.”

Eddy was of course talking about the man he spent five years with, through the rough times and the good times. He wanted to be with Alex, that man had been his life.

Brett nodded, taking in what Eddy had said. Alex truly sounded like a good man if Eddy’s account was anything to go by. Eddy would be safe with him, he would be better taken care of than he could ever offer. Besides, the love in the relationship he had with Eddy was one sided. Their relationship on the other hand, Eddy and Alex’ relationship, was mutual. Surely, if Brett loved Eddy, he would have to let him go back to that, right?   
“I… Well, I can’t fix all that for you…” Brett began, letting his gaze drop to his hands. They were fiddling nervously with the sleeve of his blazer, and it felt like the elephant was back on his chest. “But… but if I said I can take you home today, if you want…? Would that help?”

Eddy fell silent as he took in that information. Could he go home? Would it be safe or would it even be okay? Eddy wasn’t sure since the organization of course knew where he lived with Alex. On the other hand he would get to see Alex again, that was almost worth anything. Even if he did die, at least he could see Alex’s face again and have that image burned into his eyes as he passed. He would hate to do that to Alex but for Eddy it was worth it. 

“Can you do that…?” Eddy asked softly first to make sure that this was really happening, that Brett was actually going to take him home.

“If you want, then… yeah. I think that’s better for you,” Brett nodded, feeling the knot in his stomach tighten. It was obvious to him how happy Eddy was to get away from him. He could see it in how Eddy’s eyes lit up, how his posture changed. “We can go today. The sooner the better, yeah?”

Eddy carefully set the tray down to make sure he didn’t knock anything over. Once that was out of the way he lunged at Brett, wrapping the smaller man up in a hug, “Thank you so much!”

He was oh so thankful for this, he just wanted to go home honestly.

Brett hadn’t expected the hug, and he was emotionally not prepared at all for it either. He couldn’t help but squeeze him back and bury his face in Eddy’s shoulder.   
“Of course. How much would my love for you be worth if I didn’t use it to make sure you’re happy, right?” he said quietly, closing his eyes. “Just finish up breakfast, and we can gather up your stuff. I’ll take you in my car.”

“Thank you so much still,” Eddy just wanted to hold Brett in the hug for a few more moments, he was ecstatic about being able to go home. He knew it could end badly but he would figure it out, “I’m really sorry for everything Brett.”   
He was sorry that he didn’t love Brett back anymore, he was sorry that he tried to shoot him, he was sorry that he strangled Brett and led him on. Eddy was sorry for a lot of things but he couldn’t make any of it better, He couldn’t fix something that was damaged this badly. Maybe once they parted it was best that they just forgot about eachother again. That way Brett couldn’t be sad if it turned out that Eddy in fact didn’t live much longer after this. Failures didn’t have any place in this world, but at least even as a failure , Eddy had a place to call his in Alex’s heart. Somewhere he truly belonged.

“Don’t worry about it, Eddy. I just want you to be okay,” Brett said, smiling bravely as he let the hug go. He knew he had to make it seem like he was okay, like it didn’t really affect him as much as he did to let Eddy go. The truth was that he was forced to return to being the ice man he had been before Eddy had showed up in his office with his gun pointed at him. Brett wasn’t sure he could handle going back to that. “Finish up the pancakes and I’ll help you gather your stuff, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Eddy leaned back as he slowly let go of Brett, he thought carefully of what to say next. He couldn’t help but not want to forget about the other man, he had spent a lot of his life thinking about Brett. That weight lifted when he had met Alex, he wasn’t trying to forget Brett actively anymore, he had just come to peace with the choices he made. Although, he wasn’t fond of his choices, “Brett, if you ever need anything don’t be afraid to reach out to me. I’ll leave ways for you to contact me this time.”

He spoke softly, he knew of his past mistakes so he wouldn’t repeat it.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Brett said quickly, shaking his head. No, no, he couldn’t watch Eddy be happy with someone else. He couldn’t forget his feelings for Eddy like he had all those years ago, because he had been too close to a taste of what Eddy’s love feels like. The fact that he had felt Eddy’s lips on his, the fact that he had gotten so close made it impossible to forget. He couldn’t deal with losing Eddy again, but he couldn’t have that halfway pity contact either. It would only hurt him more.

“It might not be, but I’m serious. If you need anything, if anyone hurts you or if something goes wrong. I will be here for you or at least get rid of a couple of bodies.” Eddy ran a hand through his hair and ruffled it on his own. Then he looked back to his pancakes, “You don’t have to reach out to me, but it will be there as an option.”

“Thanks, Eddy,” Brett said with a sigh. He wasn’t sure how he’d deal with existing without Eddy there anymore, but he was sure that having it as an option to contact him at all would only hurt more. Everything was hurting so much already, and Eddy was still right there. “I think I’d prefer to not have that option, though.”

Eddy smiled at Brett softly, “I understand Brett. I will respect that.”

He would respect what the elder wanted. To an extent he could understand why Brett would want that. A bunch of things were so fucked between them.

“Just eat up your pancakes and I’ll go prepare for this, okay? Sounds good?” Brett asked, scooting himself off the bed. He could feel his throat tighten up as the sadness and the fear of ending up all on his own again overwhelmed him, and he didn’t want Eddy to see any of that. He didn’t want Eddy to know how much this was crushing him to do, because he didn’t want to cause any extra guilt for Eddy. He had ruined enough for Eddy as it was.

“Okay, thank you,” Eddy watched Brett, he could already tell that Brett was having a hard time. It wasn’t hard to notice, he knew if he was in Brett’s position he wouldn’t be all too happy either. Eddy hadn’t exactly been all that good to the man or for him. He was well aware of everything that had happened and the way Brett felt. It didn’t make any of the situation better.

“I’ll…” Brett began, but his voice cracked. He shook his head in an attempt to stop himself from breaking further. It didn’t really work. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”   
He made a quick escape after that, not really needing Eddy’s questions or concerns. He had done this to himself anyway by spending all that time with him while he was his prisoner. Maybe it would have been better if Eddy had been successful in his attempt on his life? At least he wouldn’t have to experience the hurt he was going through right now.


	41. Despair comes with Goodbyes

Eddy set the tray and the empty dishes on the nightstand when he was done and got off the bed happily. This was amazing, he was finally going to go home. He was so unbelievably happy, he could dance around the room he was so happy. Eddy wouldn’t do that though since Brett could be back any moment and it would be hella embarrassing if Brett caught him stupidly dancing around the room. For now he was set on getting himself cleaned up and presentable. If he was going to see Alex and then possibly die then he wanted to look good. If he was going to leave this world he was going to be happy firstly and secondly he was going to look hot. Or at least good. Those were his standards, happy and hot. That was all he needed before being okay with passing. And in this case it was what he wanted for when he saw Alex again. For him that meant he was going to shower to get all the oil out of his hair and skin so he looked clean and not like he hadn’t showered for a couple days. 

After his shower he dried himself and brushed his hair a bit. Then he got some nicer clothes on to make sure he wasn’t in anything bloody or ripped. He had to look like he was doing well so Alex wouldn’t want to kill Brett. Brett had gone through enough and Eddy didn’t want to add any more trauma to this whole shit show. For now it was best for him to pack. The quicker he packed, the quicker he could leave.

Brett had spent the half hour trying to collect himself, but it had only really ended with him burying himself more into the hole that was his emotional state. It took some time to re-convince himself this was the right thing to do, that Eddy would be better off with Alex. The one thing he couldn’t convince himself of was that he would be okay to continue managing himself after dropping Eddy off. He was getting more and more sure he wouldn’t be able to do that, wouldn’t be able to go back to just functioning as the boss of this large company he had built.    
That’s why he had ended up pulling out the top left drawer of the desk in his bedroom and taken the little glass with two pills in it and stuck it in the pocket of his blazer. He needed the option.

Eddy folded the new clothes and piled them on the bed, he was pretty sure that Brett wouldn’t want them or would burn them. All it held was bad memories. So Eddy supposed, he wasn’t completely sure though. He knew he didn't have the balls to ask Brett actually, he didn’t want to pour salt into the wound. Yeah, that wasn’t a can of worms he wanted to open. It was only bad for both of them. 

“I hope this all goes well,” Eddy mumbled to himself as he put a stack of clothes on the bed. He ran a hand through his hair, teasing it unconsciously. He liked it a little messy.

It was time. Brett knew he couldn’t drag it out any longer. He had to pull himself together, and he’d have to keep his straight face until Eddy ran into Alex’ arms later. After that, he’d decide what to do with himself.   
“Let’s go,” he muttered to himself, pushing his own door open and making his way down the hallway with long strides. The strides shortened in length as he approached Eddy’s door, though. Or well, it wasn’t really Eddy’s door anymore, was it? It was just the guest room door now. 

Eddy glanced around just to make sure he didn’t forget anything. He hadn’t, all he really needed to do was to put his boots on. That was all he needed to do, then he could walk out of here. Well after Brett walked him out and such, but still. It was kinda metaphorical. In Eddy’s weird philosophical mind. With everything done, he sat on the bed waiting. He was bouncing slightly from his excitement.

Brett knocked on Eddy’s door, or well, the guest room door. He kind of wished Eddy would take his time answering, just so he could postpone having him leave. He didn’t want this to happen at all.   
“You ready?” he asked through the door, surprising himself with how steady his voice was. Maybe he could at least keep up the facade until Eddy was gone?

“Come in, I’m ready!” Eddy smiled, as he stared at the door, he was still waiting for Brett. He was a creature of habit so he would wait for Brett in this situation.

Brett let the door creak open, but he didn’t step inside like he normally would. Just stood in the doorway, trying to seem normal despite not really feeling normal.   
“Well, let’s just get going then. Got everything?” he asked, having unconsciously wrapped his arms around himself for comfort.

Eddy nodded bouncily, he was happy it wasn’t hard to see. He jumped up from the bed and grabbed his stuff. In a swift movement he walked to the bedroom door and shoved his boots on, “Thank you so much Brett, thank you.”

“I think I still have your gun in my office. You know, the one you pointed at me,” Brett said, ignoring the gratitude. It just made him sad because it reminded him of his own, pathetic feelings. “We should go get that too before we go.”

"Oh yeah, that. It's expensive so I should probably get that," Eddy didn't really care about it, but it was wise to be armed. He needed to be careful. Even if it was his home, he knew it wasn’t safe.

“Yeah,” Brett agreed, turning his back and heading down the corridor towards his office where he kept Eddy’s gun locked up. He was stuck somewhere between wanting to get this all over with and wanting it to never end so he would never have to face being alone again. “Probably better if you have it.”

Eddy followed Brett, he could probably skip from how joyful he was but that was unbecoming of an assassin. Eddy had to refrain, he would do it once he was home though and he would absolutely love it, “I gotta defend myself after all. I feel safer with a gun.”

“You are safer with a gun too,” Brett agreed, opening his office door and heading right over to the cabinet where he kept all the guns he had taken from his prisoners. He kept some as ‘souvenirs’, but that wasn’t an option with Eddy’s. If there was any chance of him finding the strength to continue after he had dropped off Eddy, he certainly didn’t need any reminders of Eddy ever being there. Eddy smiled to himself, he didn’t think much about it. He had only one thought in his head and that was hugging Alex along with kissing the life out of the man. Right now, this was all Eddy’s brain was good for.

“Here,” Brett said simply, pulling the way too big gun out and handing it over to Eddy. “It’s empty, but you can get some ammunition if you want.” It didn’t matter if Eddy had ammunition, really. If he wanted to kill Brett before they got back, Brett was more than happy to accept that fate. That would actually make everything easier. “Just grab whatever you need from that drawer over there.”

Eddy just took the gun and put the strap over his shoulder so he could get going, “Nah, it’s fine. I could beat someone with the sheer weight of this gun anyways.”   
He didn’t want to waste anymore time searching for the right ammunition. Eddy waited for Brett to walk out of the room so he could follow.

“Aight,” Brett shrugged, closing and locking the cabinet before turning around to head off. He felt so weak as he headed back out to the hallway, making long strides to the staircase. It was slowly sinking in that he was about to lose everything again, and that him thinking he had gotten anything back had been an illusion. 

Eddy followed behind Brett, he was bouncing with every step, “Are you sure you don’t want to cuff me or anything so your guards feel safe?”

Eddy was basically asking if Brett wanted to keep up the illusion of him being the captive and the elder being the captive.

“Do you want to be cuffed?” Brett asked back, not turning to look at him. Looking at him just hurt at this point. “Or rather, will you do anything that would indicate I should have cuffed you?”

“No I won’t do anything that would make it so you have to restrain me,” Eddy was just wondering. He wanted Brett to keep his image of being in control if he wanted to.

Brett did not feel in control. He felt like all the threads of all his balloons had been ripped out of his hands, and that he was now watching as the last one was slowly floating away.The worst part was that he felt like he would never be able to get any new balloons to bring him joy. It felt pointless to have all this string, but no balloons to tie them to.   
“Then there’s no need,” Brett said with a small shrug. “I’d appreciate it if you waited until we’ve left the mansion before doing anything to me, though, if you were planning that.”   
He tried to make the last part sound like a joke, but it wasn’t really a joke.

“I don’t plan on doing anything to you, I think it’s painfully clear that I just can’t,” Eddy had tried to shoot Brett, that failed, and then he strangled Brett and that failed. He got pretty close though but that was more accidental because of a strong emotional reaction. So unless he accidentally did it then he probably wouldn’t try to do it.

“Painfully clear,” Brett nodded as they got down the stairs. Everything would have been so much easier if Eddy had just succeeded with one of his attempts on his life. Thinking about it hurt his throat, but he wasn’t sure if that was because all the emotions made his throat thick or if it was Eddy’s large hand on his throat that haunted him.

“I’m still sorry about all of that, I really am,” Eddy ran a hand through his hair as a nervouse tic. He would make up for it by disappearing from Brett’s life seeing as that was what the man wanted.

“Don’t worry about it,” Brett said quietly, heading out to the garage. “Don’t worry about me at all. It’ll be as if I never existed in your life, don’t worry about it.”

“I can’t exactly ignore the past,” Eddy cracked his neck, but he could run from it. Oh, he was very good at that. Why face his regrets when he could run from it? Not an always effective tactic but it worked for Eddy, for the most part.

“Isn’t that what you’ve been doing the last eight years anyway?” Brett asked as he unlocked the car with the remote. “It’s what I’ve been up to. At least in part.”

“I run from it, I don’t try to forget it. Honestly I spent most of my time thinking about everything back then but came to accept it. Regrets are just a part of who we are, and help us not to make the same mistakes, “ Eddy wasn’t sure if this was a mistake or not yet.

“I’ve just been ignoring the past like you’d ignore the ghost by the foot of your bed. It’s painfully obvious it’s there,” Brett sighed, shaking his head. He opened the door for Eddy, but walked around the car before he had gotten in.

“You see those too?” Eddy took it very literally and what he meant by too probably dealt with all his night terrors, then hate for the dark. He had seen some shit and was pretty sure that Brett had too. He didn’t believe in ghosts though, only his very apparent trauma. Another good thing about going home was that he could be with someone that helped him handle it.

“You see actual ghosts by the foot of your bed?” Brett asked, raising an eyebrow. He quickly shook his head, though. “Actually, it doesn’t matter. I don’t need more information about you.” He quickly sat in the driver’s seat and shut the door. He didn’t want to know anything about Eddy anymore, he didn’t need any more reasons to want to protect him.

Eddy wasn’t sure if he was supposed to answer that or not, he kinda felt weird just staying quiet, “I have a lot of issues. I mean I always had them but just a lot more now.”

Eddy buckled himself in once settled.

“Is… is that why I sometimes heard you cry at night when we shared the apartment?” Brett asked, not really knowing why he was asking. It wouldn’t matter anyway.

Eddy scratched the back of his head as he thought on that, “Yeah, or sometimes I just cried myself asleep. I do suffer insomnia so my sleep schedule was wonky then and still is, so really it could've been me crying because I needed to let out a good cry or because of the issues. “

Eddy thought it was mostly because of his guilty conscience and distancing himself from reality.

“Oh,” Brett mumbled, starting the car. So another way he had screwed up all those years ago, then. Great. “Let’s go, then, get you home.”


	42. Home Sweet Home

Eddy smiled when Brett pulled up to the curb, they were now in front of his and Alex’s house. His hands couldn’t unbuckle himself fast enough. He was free! Almost free, he just needed to hop on out of the car.

Brett just sat there, not really wanting to get out. He shouldn’t get out anyway, for Eddy’s safety. The house was probably watched, and the lesser they associated Eddy with him the better. He didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. It felt like he couldn’t breathe anyway.

“Thank you Brett,” Eddy unbuckled himself then looked at the door, willing it to unlock so he could get out of the car. In reality he was just waiting for Brett to unlock it, although he could probably just do it himself.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll wait until you’re inside,” Brett said quietly, unlocking the doors. He didn’t even look at Eddy, because if he did, he would for sure burst out in tears. “Good luck.”

Eddy opened the door carefully and took careful steps out, “Goodbye, Bretty.”

He used the nickname since they probably weren’t going to see each other again. He quietly walked to the front door. Oh hell, he was so nervous. He didn’t know what to expect from this. Eddy walked to the front door, pausing right in front of it. He felt frozen for a moment, but he raised his hand to knock. All there was to do was wait. From behind the door he heard someone shuffle around and a voice he didn’t recognize.

Brett watched Eddy from the car, feeling like the elephant on his chest was back. Everything hurt, and his head felt like it would explode any second. There was no way he would be able to handle continuing without Eddy now. Not anymore, not after what had happened with the kiss, with feeling all of Eddy’s body against him, with the illusion of being worth Eddy’s love and attention. He never was, of course. It was all just because Eddy needed him out of the way for this to be safe. Brett would fix that for him, though. He’d technically have succeeded, and everything could go back to normal for him. Brett had to do that for him, because he loved him so much.

Without second thought, Eddy’s fist landed against the door, knocking as softly as he could. He didn’t want to pound on the door and he didn’t exactly know who was inside with his boyfriend. It worried him a bit that he had heard someone he didn’t recognize. Did Alex move on in that short amount of time? After all, Alex had never come to save him like Zero promised. Or maybe an organization official was over? Eddy gnawed his bottom lip in anxiety, at this point he would prefer an official rather than Alex not wanting him anymore. If that happened, Eddy wouldn’t know what to do with himself. He had been with the man for five years, happily with the man for five years. It was his one comfort in his life, well besides Belle but he hadn’t seen her in years. Alex was all he had, so all he could do was wait at the door and pray to the gods he didn’t even believe in.

_ Click  _ went the lock, signalling to Eddy that the door was unlocked. Then with a creak the door was opened. Standing on the threshold was the short man that Eddy knew and loved. It was Alex, his black hair with dark chocolate brown tips was tousled, a baggy heavy metal shirt hanging off his thin frame and what Eddy could only awesome was something akin to yoga pants.

Eddy loved that sight, what he didn’t love was the look that his boyfriend was giving him. It was shocked and confused, along with looking like Alex had seen a ghost. The shorter man mouthed to himself, “They told me that you were de-”

He was caught off though when Eddy hugged him. Eddy was just so happy that he was back home. 

For a moment Alex hugged him back, burying his face into the taller’s shoulder and his fingers curled into Eddy’s t-shirt. 

“Alex, who’s at the door?” A deep and dark voice called from somewhere inside the house. Alex’s eyes flickered anxiously as he glanced inside, before going stone faced. As if detaching himself from what was going on. Then he quite literally shoved Eddy off him, if he wasn’t harsh then Eddy wouldn’t leave, “It’s no one, just a marketer.”

He then looked back at the shocked boy standing in front of him, looking like a kicked puppy..    
Alex’s eyes showed no emotion, there was a deadness to them. A look the man always got when he was killing someone, “You need to leave, don’t come back.”

His tone was icy, making a point not to make eye contact with the heartbroken boy. Without second thought he took a step back and closed the door in Eddy’s face. 

Eddy stood there in shock, he didn’t know what to do so he stayed still. Letting the shock run through him, twisting into something wretched in his stomach. He felt sick and like he couldn’t breathe. He brought his fist to the door, maybe if he banged and pleaded he would be let into his home. Eddy did none of that though, his hand fell back to his side as he collapsed to his knees. 

He couldn’t breathe. His forehead fell against the door as a hand shot up to his throat. Squeezing it to try to anchor himself. It worked only a little bit. 

_ “Pull yourself together Eddy, get up!”  _ He squeezed his eyes closed, he had to go. His safe place was no longer safe. It wasn’t safe in the first place. With difficulty he got himself back up to his shaky legs and slowly walked away from the door. Maybe he could just lie in the middle of the road and let a car run him over. The crushing of his bones and the spilling of his organs on asphalt would feel no different than he felt now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So why do ya'll think Alex pushed Eddy away?


	43. It wasn't the End after all

Brett had to wipe his tears to be sure he was seeing this right. He had seen the hug, he had seen Eddy’s happy smile, so why wasn’t he stepping inside? It made no sense, but yet there Eddy was stepping away from the door and back out towards the street.   
“Wha..?” he muttered out loud to himself, taking his seat belt off and carefully opening the car door.   
“Eddy?” he asked, furrowing his brows. What was going on?

Eddy looked at Brett, he was still in shock so his eyes were blown wide and he wore his own face of bewilderment. He was aware of his feeling of wanting to disappear though, “Could you just, like, run me over…” 

He knew he was hurt but he didn’t understand it. All he knew was he was being hugged then shoved away and getting told to leave. 

“No,” Brett said, shaking his head. He took a few steps closer to him. “No, Eddy. I can’t do that.” His voice was still sore from his own crying just a moment ago, but he was realizing something was very wrong, and the need to make sure Eddy was okay was as strong as it used to be eight years ago. “What happened?”

“I got kicked out, “ The assassin said eerily calm because hadn’t quite sunk in yet. If it had fully sunk in, he wouldn’t be functioning right now. He was barely functioning without thinking of death anyways. So it could only go downhill from here.

“Oh,” Brett mumbled, really not expecting that answer at all. What the hell was this Alex about? Hug him and then tell him to get lost? “Okay, that’s not the outcome we expected, but… I guess we’ll go home, then. Come.” He took another few steps closer and reached out to try and take Eddy’s hand carefully to bring him back to the car. Eddy rather get hit by Brett’s fancy car but he supposed that wasn’t an option. He couldn’t go home or get ran over, so what was he even doing?   
“Okay, “ Eddy slowly took Brett’s hand, his mind was trying to catch up with everything but it felt like his brain had melted.   
“It’ll be okay,” Brett said softly, giving his hand a light squeeze. “I got you.”   
He opened the car door for Eddy and tried to see if he’d get inside himself or if he needed more help. It was a bit eerie how calm Eddy was. He suspected it was just the calm before the storm, though, and that it would be better to not be there when the bad weather came.

Eddy carefully sat down, not saying anything. His brows furrowed slightly as the scene replayed in his head. He tried to figure out what he did wrong… Well he did a lot of things wrong in the past so it was hard to pinpoint anything. On the other hand he could blame himself.

“You got your seatbelt too?” Brett asked softly, realizing he was very much in danger standing outside the car like this. It was weird how he had gone from being ready to die a few moments ago until he again was in a situation where he needed to take care of Eddy. “Or do you want me to help you?”

“I can do it,” Eddy said quietly and a bit sharply, things may not be processing quickly but he was obviously in a bad mood. His everything hurt. Slowly he buckled himself or tried to with his limited brain cells.

Brett closed the door for him and walked quickly around the car and got in. He put his own seatbelt on too and got the parking brake off. He didn’t know what to say, or if he should say anything even. It was probably best to be quiet and let Eddy feel the things he needed for a bit.   
Eddy closed his eyes, maybe if he pretended to be dead long enough he’d die. Probably not, but one could hope. He licked his lips, not knowing what would happen now. Was he just going to be a prisoner for the rest of his life? It had taken so long for Brett to even let him go, but there was definitely no chance of that now. 

“We’ll just go home, and then it’s up to you, okay? I’ll make sure you’re as okay as you can be, yeah?” Brett tried, hoping it would assure him, even if it was just a bit. He looked over at Eddy quickly, just wanting to make sure he wasn’t gonna do something stupid like jump out of the car in traffic or anything. That’s what Brett would feel like doing if he had been kicked out by someone he had been in a relationship with for five years anyway.

“Okay, “ Eddy didn’t even know what he wanted besides disappearing. The elder had already denied him that though. Eddy didn’t want to try to wrap his head around it anymore. It would be so much better to just bash his head open. Then he wouldn’t have to think. Most likely that wasn’t an option either.

“Wanna get some bubble tea on the way home? Or ice cream?” Brett suggested softly once they came to a stop at a red light. He looked over at the guy and reached out to touch his arm carefully. “I hear that’s supposed to make you feel less crap.”

“No thank you…” Eddy glanced at Brett, he felt like he was on the edge. He didn’t know how long it would take him to break, it was like playing with a ticking time bomb. It wasn’t a smart idea at all.

“You sure?” Brett asked softly, having to look back onto the road again when the light turned green. “Or I can get you some when we get home if that’s better?”

“The latter is better, “Eddy scared himself with how calm he was. It was like after he killed someone, it felt like something in him was missing. Simply becoming more monster than human the further he strayed from humanity.

“Okay, we’ll do it that way,” Brett nodded, really worried. It didn’t make any sense for Eddy to be this calm. None at all. Eddy nodded slightly. It helped to be detached from these things. They couldn’t hurt him if he didn’t let it. He had been through so much, so what did it matter if he experienced more heartbreaking moments. Feelings were for losers.

It was quiet as Brett drove back up the driveway and when he pulled into the garage. He felt strange, because he hadn’t expected to do that again.   
“Let’s get inside and get comfortable, yeah?” he suggested, looking over at Eddy. “And then I’ll ask someone to get us bubble tea and ice cream.”

Eddy carefully unbuckled himself and looked towards Brett. He didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t his home and he had only been in a couple of the rooms. All he could do in this situation was rely on Brett.

“Come on, I got you,” Brett said, getting out of the car quickly and going around to catch him the moment he got out of the car too. He opened the door for him and offered his hand to hold on the way inside, hoping it could be of some comfort. Eddy gingerly took Brett’s hand, he hoped the man would guide him somewhere he could hide. He would be okay with the bedroom he had been held in. Then he could curl up under the blankets.

“You okay with your room?” Brett asked softly once they got inside, giving his hand a squeeze. The guy felt strange, and it made Brett want to hug him tightly and make sure nobody could hurt him ever again. He wasn’t sure if Eddy would want that, though.

“Yes, please” Eddy would prefer that and had just thought of it. He was familiar with the room that held him captive. Familiarity was good.   
Brett was quick to lead him upstairs, looking back at the guy several times on the way to make sure he was still as stable as he seemed. Not that he seemed very stable, but at least he wasn’t freaking out. Eddy wanted to be surrounded by something that he knew. At least the mansion had become something he knew, even if not well. It was something and something was all he needed. He kept his gaze on the floor to show how he felt.

“Here we are,” Brett said as he opened the door to Eddy’s room and pulled him carefully inside. He gave his hand another squeeze. “Wanna tell me… what exactly happened? What… I mean…?”   
Eddy looked around the room then looked at Brett, he guessed he could put it into words for Brett. Although he had already said that he got kicked out, wasn’t that enough explanation? Apparently not.   
“I don’t know what happened, one moment he’s hugging me then the next another man calls for me and he pushes me away to tell me to leave, “ Eddy could get in more detail probably since there were things he noticed. However, what he said was the big takeaway. The thing that hurt the most.

“Oh,” Brett said softly, squeezing his hand again. It didn’t feel enough at all, like it didn’t help at all. Instead, he pulled him into a tight hug, squeezing the younger man. “I’m so sorry this is happening to you, Eddy. I’ve got you, though. I’ll be here.”   
Eddy closed his eyes, it seemed all of his barriers broke in that moment. A weak sob ripped through him as he hugged Brett back. Some things hurt so badly that he couldn’t run from them. Maybe he shouldn’t run from them though, maybe this was what he needed to be okay. He hugged Brett tighter whilst burying his face in the man’s shoulder.


End file.
